(Commentary) Michael Rubin - Albert Einstein quipped that insanity was doing the same action repeatedly but expecting different results each time. Once again, as the smoke clears in Gaza, the European community is stepping in with calls for a donor conference. That's simply crazy. The Palestinians have received more per capita than any other national community, but have the least to show for it. The problem is not Israel, but rather an unwillingness to foreswear terrorism and concentrate instead on internal development. If Hamas knows that the international community will always step in and rebuild houses, schools, or government buildings, then it makes it easier to dedicate what revenue the Palestinian government does have to terrorism and military adventurism. The international community's knee-jerk reaction has always been to subsidize the Palestinians further. Clearly, that strategy has neither worked nor furthered peace. Perhaps it's time to stop treating taxpayer dollars as an entitlement to Palestinians who have made bad choices. Only when Palestinians in Gaza realize that Hamas brings nothing but ruin can there be a possibility for something better. The writer is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Pentagon official.
2014-08-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive