Jul. 23, 2003

 

By Ephraim Sneh

A massive development plan is the best way to bolster the secular Palestinian leadership
The fragile cease-fire agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian government comes after 1,000 days of terror, bloodshed, and devastation. More than 3,000 Israelis and Palestinians were killed in this period. The truce is the initial implementation of the road map, President Bush's initiative for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

 

However, peace will not be achieved if the Islamic terror organizations - Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah, and chiefly Hamas - are not defeated militarily and politically.

But these terrorist groups cannot be dismantled by force only. Over the last 33 months these organizations have gained more power and influence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Their growing strength threatens the hegemony of the national secular leadership of the Palestinians.

If the road map fails, fanatic extremist organizations will take over and control Palestinian society. Their true strategic goal is not merely to end Israeli occupation but to displace a moderate Palestinian leadership and emerge as the dominant political force among the Palestinian people.

 

In this regard, the interests of Israel and those of the Palestinian government converge. For the Palestinian secular leadership Hamas's dominance over the West Bank and Gaza spells the end of their dream for a modern, independent state. For Israel it means an intolerable reality, an endless war against Islamic terror with all the inevitable economic implications and human suffering. Furthermore, Hamas's control over 3.5 million Palestinians has consequences beyond Israel's boundaries; it has a destructive effect on regional stability.

IT IS FOR these reasons that Hamas and the other terror groups must be defeated. But this cannot be achieved just with guns and tanks. The real battle is for the hearts and minds of the Palestinians, and the best way to dissuade them from terror is through economic development.

 

Poverty, ignorance, and despair provide fertile ground for terror. Modernization, jobs, education, and hope for a decent life may stave off the influence of the terror organizations. If a secular government can provide these improvements the appeal of radical Islam will fade. Hamas and its welfare system would have fewer clients.

To bring about the defeat of Hamas and the other terror groups an economic road map is urgently needed to complement President Bush's political measures. Organizing a massive economic development plan for Gaza and the West Bank is a challenge to the United States, the EU, and the Gulf states, as well as to Israel and the Palestinian government. It is a challenge to all countries concerned about the prospects of continued terror in the Middle East and the possibility of a fundamentalist Islamic regime in Ramallah and Gaza.

 

These countries should immediately combine efforts to form and fund an investment pool of capital for the purpose of economic development and job creation in the Palestinian territories. This fund should be run with transparency and professionalism by individuals of high repute. It should target not only large-scale industrial operations but also small-business development and micro-lending to enterprises run by women.

Already there are a number of opportunities that could be advanced through such a fund. They include developing proven gas reserves off the Gaza coast to supply competitive energy; completing desalination plants to provide badly needed water; creating a regional medical center; building additional industrial parks; and developing a railway link between Gaza and the West Bank, and between Jordan and the Haifa seaport.

 

Time is short. The Palestinian people must begin to see that there is a better life through regional cooperation and coexistence. They must recognize that they are facing a choice between radical Islam, which will yield continued misery and deprivation, and economic development, modernization and a better standard of living through a changed attitude and atmosphere.

President Bush has shown great leadership in his willingness to combat worldwide terrorism. The time has come for leadership from all concerned countries to provide the Palestinian people with economic incentives to move toward a better life for themselves, thereby dealing the terrorist movements a decisive and lethal blow.

 

The writer, a former member of the Israeli cabinet, is chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on defense planning and policy.