Actually the economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are booming, helped in part smuggling tunnels run off Israeli electricity. But why should that get in the way of a little obsessive anti-Israel demonization?

The Palestinian economy has "incredible potential" that could be unleashed if Israel eases restrictions on Palestinian movement, the area's World Bank chief said Wednesday, a day after a high-level World Bank delegation inaugurated a sewage storage facility in a rare trip to Hamas-ruled Gaza. It took three years, rather than the scheduled nine months, to build the treatment basins meant to drain a sewage lake in northern Gaza. The delays were caused by an Israeli border closure of the territory, along with frequent flare-ups of violence that have made it difficult to get construction materials into Gaza.

Presumably those "border closures" had nothing to do with those "frequent Hamas-initiated flare-ups." Because if they did then both this lede and the diplomats who fed it to the AP would be pretty openly misleading readers. And that wouldn't be very ethical, now would it?

The World Bank's been pulling this stunt for years. Like State Department peacemakers, these tools just can't understand why all their sophisticated interventions keep failing. It can't be because they're approaching Palestinian society and Palestinian intentions in fundamentally flawed ways and with fundamentally flawed assumptions. So it's Israel's fault. Naturally.

References:
* Israeli Defense Official: Hamas Takeover Of West Bank Proceeding About How You'd Expect (Plus: Israel In Second Month Of Massive Humanitarian Concessions) [MR]
* Gaza's Booming Economy - Underground Mall System, Hundreds Of Supermarkets, Latest Fashions (Plus: New Gaza Tunnel Wasn't For Smuggling) [MR]
* Hamas Hooks Up Smuggling Tunnels To Israeli-Supplied Electricity Grid (Plus: Hamas Online Courses Teach Math, Genocidal Terrorism) [MR]
* World Bank: Palestinian economy could flourish if Israel eased restrictions [Ha'aretz]
* Israel Foils Massive Impending Attack, Hamas Responds With Massive Missile Attack - It's A Cycle Of Violence! [MR]
* World Bank Blames Israel For Palestinian Poverty. Soon Afterwards, Palestinians Shoot At Each Other In Reaction To New Security Plan. [MR]
* Sure It's Economics, But Is It Art? [MR]

Previously:
* Palestinians Intentionally Creating Humanitarian Crises In Gaza By Refusing To Accept Israeli Fuel
* Condi: Failure Of Inevitably Doomed 2008 US Peace Deal Is Israel's Fault
* New Data Confirms Old Data: Blaming Israel For Gaza's Medical Collapse Is A Vicious Lie