World Bank Blames Israel For Palestinian Poverty. Soon Afterwards, Palestinians Shoot At Each Other In Reaction To New Security Plan.

The World Bank has been pulling this stunt for years, so there's nothing particularly insightful about this post (or rather, even less than usual). But it's always elegant to see the juxtapositions. On Tuesday the World Bank published a report blaming - wonder of all wonders - the Israelis for the fact that Palestinians can't be bothered to stop trying to infiltrate Israel and kill Jews:

The World Bank report on restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of movement of Palestinians is full of errors and imbalanced, said Deputy Defense Minister Efraim Sneh yesterday, responding to news of the report published in Haaretz on Tuesday. Sneh told Haaretz that the report uses mistaken data. Sneh points out several areas in the West Bank where passage for the transfer of goods and people has been eased, but complains "the World Bank is ignoring a much more basic fact: What is making the life of Palestinians in the West Bank difficult is terrorism, not Israel. From Jenin to Nablus there are daily attempts to carry out attacks on Israel and the World Bank has forgotten that uncontrolled lifting of roadblocks could lead to the loss of lives. If the World Bank knows how to do it better, let it tell us."

That's a fair point. Lifting roadblocks is astonishingly well-correlated with getting Israeli civilians dead. But that's just one of the many, many reasons why this World Bank stinks of hypocrisy. We're not experts on political economy, but it can't be easy to develop robust infrastructure or agile industries when the armed forces of the current government are in gunfights with the armed forces from the last government:

Clashes between the rival Hamas and Fatah forces erupted in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, marring the launch of a new security plan aimed at halting the wave of violence plaguing the crowded coastal area. Palestinian medical officials said one person was wounded - and four people were kidnapped and then released - in the fighting in the Nusseirat refugee camp. No further details were immediately available... Haniyeh, of the Islamic militant Hamas, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah were meeting later Thursday to discuss the interior minister's complaints. Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government in March with the aim of restoring calm. The alliance has brought a lull in factional fighting, but crime and violence remain rampant in Gaza.

It's obviously Israel's fault. If Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians would create a utopia there. They'd build on a new vision of what a truly just society can be. You'll see.

References:
* Sure It's Economics, But Is It Art?
* Sneh complains about 'one-sided' World Bank report [Ha'aretz]
* Gunfight mars launch of new plan to bring quiet to Gaza [Ha'aretz]

Previously:
* World Bank Sets Conditions for PA Aid
* World Bank Wants Israel Split Into Pieces
* Hey World Bank, Shove It

Cross-posted to:
* The Astute Bloggers
* Israpundit