Daniel Pipes has written a must-read analysis demonstrating the correlation between infusions of Western aid into the Palestinian Authority and spikes in Palestinian homicides (both terrorist and criminal, both Israeli and Palestinian victims). While the West clings to a tattered faith in the belief that any amount of money spent on the PA is worth it if it buys "moderate" behavior from Palestians, Pipes shows, using a stunning set of graphs prepared by research analyst Stephen Stotsky of CAMERA, this faith in money buying moderation is delusional.

He writes: If these studies run exactly counter to the conventional supposition that poverty, unemployment, repression, "occupation," and malaise drive Palestinians to lethal violence, they do confirm my long-standing argument about Palestinian exhilaration being the problem. The better funded Palestinians are, the stronger they become, and the more inspired to take up arms.

A topsy-turvy understanding of war economics has prevailed in Israel since the Oslo negotiations began in 1993. Rather than deprive their Palestinian enemies of resources, Israelis have been following Shimon Peres's mystical musings, and especially his 1993 tome, The New Middle East, to empower them economically. As I wrote in 2001, this "is tantamount to sending the enemy resources while fighting is still under way - not a hugely bright idea."

Rather than further funding Palestinian bellicosity, Western states, starting with Israel, should cut off all funds to the Palestinian Authority.

Read his article here:

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1207/pipes121807.php3