Tomorrow, Jan. 31, the European Union and Norway will convene in Brussels for another "emergency meeting of international donors to Palestine." The conference will see a repeat of a pattern of behavior in which the richest countries in the world spill out hundreds of millions of dollars as a solution to the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli government, which will be represented by Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, expressed its support for emergency aid, recognizing that if the Gaza regime collapsed, it could cause another war. While the basic needs of Gaza's civilian population, like electricity and potable water, are obvious to all, another round of funding won't solve the core problem there, especially given that the role Hamas is playing in the crisis is being ignored. So to prevent the next crisis, and the one after that, real change is necessary.
Israeli interests demand that Hanegbi switch roles from an observer to a central actor in the event and that he ask for an orderly plan to shut down the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. Hanegbi needs to prevent viable alternatives to the destructive status quo that for 70 years has defined Palestinians in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, etc. as refugees from the 1948 War of Independence, leading billions of dollars of international aid to be funneled into perpetuating the Palestinian narrative about a "right of return." The unstinting support of various Israeli governments and the Israeli defense establishment for UNRWA has caused considerable damage, and it's time to think up more efficient ways of helping that are not tied to the Palestinian narrative or to terrorist organizations. The political price of continued cooperation with UNRWA outweighs all other considerations.
The U.S. has started to understand this and has frozen $100 million in UNRWA funds until serious reforms to the organization are made. Despite condemnation of the American move from the U.N., other donor nations, the international aid industry, and the Palestinians, a discussion of the problems in UNRWA is vital.
In response to the U.S. move – in what appears to be a political move to demonstrate "solidarity" with the Palestinians – the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden promised to use their tax revenues to cover the amount that the U.S. has withheld from UNRWA. Of course, this isn't what will help the Palestinians. The opposite – we should start putting together a plan to dismantle UNRWA within no more than five years.
With or without UNRWA, the discussions in Brussels should include the establishment of supervisory mechanisms that will put an end to funds meant for hospitals, schools, and housing being exploited to build terror tunnels and other Hamas infrastructure. For years, donor nations trusted nongovernmental organizations, which report independently and are not subject to audit. Along with Israel, the donors must implement technological tools that will guarantee independent and objective oversight that will prevent the diversion of aid funds, which ultimately steals basic needs from the civilian population and leaves them exposed and vulnerable when the next war comes.
In addition, the fact that Hamas has been holding the bodies of two Israeli soldiers (Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul) for more than three years should be raised at every international discussion about aid money. The Israeli government should use every form of leverage to influence donor nations to help bring them back to their families, and remind the same donor nations that they have a moral responsibility to condition aid on the return of Goldin and Shaul's bodies.
The government cannot allow the status quo to continue. The Brussels meeting is a critical moment that offers an opening to change the failed policy that gives hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen an even more failing system.
