September 11, 2024: Arab nations are not known for efficient government. For thousands of years the region was known for its corrupt and ineffective rulers. Obtaining a job with actual power meant the incumbent was more beholden to his tribe or extended family. Take care of those effective friends and family members and they will continue to support you. This only works if you don’t deprive too many others of essential items like food and access to housing, food and protection from jealous and unruly followers. This is a delicate balancing act that often collapses into ungovernable chaos.

The Arab PA (Palestinian Authority) was founded in 1994 in response to the need for a responsible government in the West Bank and Gaza. At that point Hamas was an even more corrupt and irresponsible governing faction in Gaza. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) were always standing by to keep the peace in the West Bank and Gaza when things got out of hand. The PA and Hamas often got greedy and sloppy, which triggered popular violence against their self-serving or misguided rule.

Technically the Palestinian territories were democracies but the corrupt governments were unwilling or unable to run honest elections. Palestinians knew this to be true because those who migrated to Europe or America reported that real elections and responsible politicians did exist and people, including Palestinians, prospered under such conditions. Despite these examples of successful government, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have never been able to overcome the entrenched corruption and apathy to create real elections and all the benefits that follow.

Hamas is particularly opposed to any government that could curb their power. Hamas, unlike the PA, will grab their guns and shoot back at any reformers. This degree of violence often brings in the IDF, which eliminates the gunfire but cannot do anything about dysfunctional PA and Hamas governments. While life is better for those who migrate, most Palestinians prefer to stay where they are and take their chances. For them there is no place like home in the ancient, occupied areas of the West Bank and Gaza.

The Hamas violence that began in late 2023 left an unprecedented 1,139 Israelis dead. This more than doubled the number of Israeli civilians killed by Palestinian terrorist violence since the 1980s. As a democracy, this situation caused the majority of Israeli voters to call for harsh measures to stop the violence against Israeli civilians. While the PA managed to maintain a modicum of control in the West Bank, the situation in Gaza was out of control. Hamas believed in using Palestinian civilians as human shields and did so increasingly as they sought to prevent the IDF from restoring order in Gaza. Palestinian civilians in Gaza were more frightened of Hamas than the IDF, but not scared enough to report Hamas members hiding in plain sight among Palestinian civilians.

Gaza continues to be chaotic with the IDF ordering Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza so Hamas members can be hunted down and destroyed. This has had some success, especially because the IDF has made progress in detecting and destroying the vast tunnel system Hamas has built over the last few decades. Hamas diverted nearly a hundred million dollars in aid money to the tunnels project. Hamas uses the tunnels to shelter their fighters as well as the foreign aid stolen to form stockpiles of non-perishable food and other supplies to keep the fight against the IDF going. Most of these tunnels were built after the IDF left Gaza in 2007. Now the IDF has to return to destroy the tunnels and the supplies stored there, as well as the Hamas gunmen living down there. The IDF has cut off supplies of fuel for the generators in the tunnels as well as access to most tunnel entrances. It could take up to a year to complete the destruction of the Gaza tunnel system. The IDF wants assurances from the Israeli government that groups like Hamas will never again be left alone to build such infrastructure. So far, the IDF has lost hundreds of troops dealing with the tunnels and does not want to do it again in the future.

Hamas has been attacking Israelis constantly since October 7, 2023. Starting on August 3rd, Israel launched the first of a series of major raids on Hamas positions in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli troops found substantial evidence of Iran providing weapons for Palestinian militants in both areas. This operation will continue until the IDF has destroyed as much of the Hamas presence they can find in Gaza and the West Bank. This won’t completely destroy Hamas as it has a significant presence in Qatar, but will weaken it to the point where a long-term rebuilding effort will be necessary. Israel has plans for disrupting that rebuilding process. Hamas wanted to get Israel’s attention and now they have.

The PA makes matters worse with their pay-for-slay program. Since the 1970s the PA has diverted nearly half a billion dollars in foreign aid to pay Palestinian terrorists for killing Israeli civilians and soldiers. There is an elaborate system for paying the families of dead Palestinian terrorists as well as lesser payments for those imprisoned for attacks on Israelis. Foreign donors eventually learned of this program, which used money donated for the welfare of Palestinian civilians. Donors tried to enforce rules prohibiting use of cash for pay-for-slay programs. The PA keeps finding ways to circumvent these restrictions and continue making terrorism profitable for Palestinians. PA leaders take a portion of the aid for themselves as a reward for continuing to deceive foreign donors.