By Daniel Pipes
Saturday, May 04, 2019
Palestinians do weird things. A few days ago, the
Palestinian Authority (PA), which rules most of the West Bank, refused to
accept the tax revenues it is owed by the Israeli government. Today, Hamas,
which rules all of Gaza, launched more than 200 rockets into Israel.
Both of these are, on the surface, self-defeating steps
that make no sense. Not taking the money means the PA could collapse; firing
rockets means Hamas is getting battered militarily by the far superior Israeli
forces.
So, why do the leaders of these quasi-governmental
entities take such apparently self-defeating steps? Because they bring results.
Follow the logic:
• Israel is thriving in nearly every domain, from
demographics to economics, from democracy to cultural creativity.
• The Palestinians feel isolated and weak because the
Arab states have basically come to terms with Israel’s existence, leaving the
struggle to secondary players such as Iran, Turkey, and the global Left.
• No matter their weakness, the leaders of the PA and
Hamas remain committed to the elimination of the Jewish state, meaning that
they cannot live in peace next to Israel.
• Contrarily, the Israeli public cherishes normality and,
especially since the 1993 Oslo accords, has been ready to pay a price for it.
Therefore, the Palestinians play a game of chicken,
disturbing the quiet in return for an Israeli pay-off. The Palestinian
Authority says, “Give us the money you’re holding back that we use to fund
attacks on Israelis or our whole structure will come crashing down and you’ll
have a much bigger mess on your hands.” Hamas says, “Give us access to the
money Qatar is sending us or we will make life miserable for you, with rockets
raining down during your Memorial Day, your Independence Day, and the
semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
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Palestinian logic boils down to blackmail: You Israelis
are rich, strong, and happy, so we will make you miserable unless you give us
access to more money. It’s weird, it’s sick, but it usually works, especially
given an Israeli security establishment for whom quiet is the first priority.
So, expect these tactics to succeed and be deployed time
and again into the future.
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