By Andrew L. Jaffee

The UN is trying to convince the West to keep funding the Palestinians. Too bad the UN ignores history. Too bad the UN is not interested in history. Last time we “gave peace a chance” with the Palestinians (via Oslo), they responded with the “most sustained wave of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israeli history.” Here’s the UN, according to the BBC:

Palestinians face a bleak humanitarian situation because of cuts in foreign aid after the Hamas-led government took office, the UN has warned.

It says poverty will rise sharply and the security situation could become very volatile if there is a total cut in Palestinian Authority funding. …

Financial crises are a familiar feature of the PA’s ramshackle government.

But, as the UN makes clear, this one could be much more serious than ever before.

And we should now trust Hamas, one of the world’s most feared terrorist groups, with our money? Issam Abu Issa, former chairman of the Palestine International Bank, doesn’t buy it. Max Abrahms, writing for the National Review, summed up the UN’s thinking in 2003 — an old article, but still very relevant:

The Arab-Israeli conflict is often framed as a “cycle of violence.” A strong Israeli policy against Palestinian terrorism will only spawn more attacks against Israel, goes the logic. Conversely, if only Israel made unilateral concessions to the Palestinians, it would find a partner for peace. This is the conventional wisdom. And it is wrong.

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Related: Israel, Palestinians, Peace Process

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