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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/A-Marshall-Plan-for-Gaza-is-a-bad-idea-514366
Why a Marshall Plan for Gaza Is a Bad Idea
(Jerusalem Post) Efraim Inbar - Some have advocated a "Marshall Plan" - a massive international mobilization - for the improvement of Gaza's living conditions in the belief that this will reduce anti-Israel violence. Yet the belief that poverty leads to terrorism is unsubstantiated. There has been no proven connection between one's standard of living and political violence and terrorism. The belief that greater affluence for Gazan civilians will bring moderation to the Hamas military leadership is naive. Radical ideology and religious fervor are unlikely to be influenced by the wealth of unarmed civilians. Massive economic aid for Gaza is synonymous with supporting Israel's bitter enemy, one which seeks Israel's destruction. Did the West ever consider granting economic aid to the Islamic State for fear of greater radicalization? The writer, founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies.