The developing international campaign to collect funds in order to reconstruct Gaza, which is ruled by the radical Islamist Hamas organization, is strategic folly. It is also unlikely to be effective. And, under current circumstances, it is also immoral.
Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007, most of the international community has argued that the best way to prop up the more moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) leader, Mahmoud Abbas, was to ensure economic support for his fiefdom in the West Bank. This, it was said, would make it clear to every Palestinian that Hamas is the "bad guy" unable to bring prosperity. This path would convince Palestinians that it is unwise to support the radical Islamist organization. Under this rationale, the PA has continued to draw unprecedented economic support from the world.
In response to Hamas harassing over a million Israelis by launching thousands of rockets, Israel finally reacted in December 2008 with a military operation against Hamas, and inflicted damage on Gaza. Aside from punishing Hamas for its rocket attacks on Israel and weakening the rule of the Hamas terrorists, the beating was meant to demonstrate to reasonable Palestinians that Hamas attacks on Israel would only bring them havoc and suffering. Israel has tried to influence the learning curve of the Palestinians that aggression against Israel does not pay and that support for Hamas could be costly.
Theoretically, the results of the limited Israeli operation would seem to complement the international community's efforts to make the lives of the Palestinians under Abbas better than those of the Gazans. Most of the international community, including Arab moderate states, supported the Israeli attack on Hamas; with the understanding that Hamas is a proxy of the Ayatollahs' regime in Tehran and a source of instability in the region. Yet, this clear strategic rationale seems to evaporate in a mush of sentimentalist manipulation. Instead of using the tough pictures coming out of Gaza to tell Gazans: "We told you all along that the Hamas leadership would only make things worse" (just as it has in other places where radical Islamists gained power), Western leaders seem to have foolishly decided that Gaza should speedily be rebuilt!
This, of course, sends the wrong signal. It tells Palestinians that their leadership can make grave, deadly mistakes, and nevertheless gullible Westerners and others will bail them out. It also signals to Hamas that it can continue seeking the destruction of Israel and shooting at the Jewish State; for if Israel repeats its military action, merciful donor states will again repair the damage.
Diplomats are looking for formulas that will enable channeling aid to the Gaza Strip while bypassing Hamas. Realistically, there is no way to reconstruct Gaza without strengthening Hamas. The PA has no standing in the Strip anymore and it is highly unlikely that it will gain a foothold there in the near future.
Aid through the UN is less objectionable, but Hamas will end up benefitting from this as well. Which leads us back to square one, because essentially, ‘Hamastan' must not be rebuilt by the international community. The reconstruction of Hamastan in Gaza - an Iranian base that threatens Israel and many moderate Arab regimes - makes no strategic sense.
America helped reconstruct Western Europe and Japan after World War II to make sure they would be ruled by friendly democratic regimes. Hamas is authoritarian and anti- Western. Moreover, its rule will doom the Gazans to poverty and ignorance. It is simply daft to facilitate the continuation of Hamas rule.
Does the enlightened international community really believe that Abbas is interested in the reconstruction of Gaza and consolidation of the Hamas regime? Is this what the Egyptians and the Saudis are after? Is it not clear that they prefer the fall of Hamas and will be ready to cooperate against Iranian attempts to channel support to Gaza?
Looking at Palestinian economic performance, it is also clear that the reconstruction of Gaza is unlikely to be successful. Since the Oslo process started in 1993, the Palestinians have received billions of euros and dollars, scoring the highest per capita aid in the world. Much of it was squandered by corruption and ineptitude. Very little aid filtered down to the people. Like many Third World countries, the Palestinians lack the legal and institutional infrastructure needed for effective dispersal of economic aid. Gaza is behind the West Bank in its development, making it an even less suitable candidate for effective international aid. Nevertheless, the standard of living of the Gazans today is still higher than the Egyptians. This would indicate that Egypt, a pro-Western moderate state, deserves to be a better candidate for international aid than Gaza.
From what we know of the fortunes reaped from the humanitarian aid transferred to the Gazans in recent years, it is clear that a large proportion of the benefits of the external aid will be siphoned off to the Hamas leadership, followed by Hamas activists; and only what is left will go to the destitute. Armed groups always get the first and best cut from international aid sent to the suffering. This is what is happening everywhere where international aid is dispensed. Gaza is not any different.
Finally, the morality of pouring money into Gaza so that Gazans can live better is questionable as long as Hamas does not stop terrorizing Israel and stop the smuggling of weapons. It is wrong to argue that the Gazans should not suffer the consequences of Hamas actions. Unfortunately, Hamas was very popular among the Gazans and continues to be so. Moreover, all polls show staggering support among Gazans for violence against Israelis. What moral justification exists for helping people that support an organization intent on destroying the Jewish state, and is actively engaged in killing innocent Israeli citizens?
The international community must think strategically with regard to Gaza, and not be drawn into sentimental escapades of rebuilding and humanitarian assistance that undercut our paramount strategic goals. Even the friends of the Palestinian national movement should realize that it is time for tough love for Gaza.

Prof. Efraim Inbar is director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.