The Donors Conference for Gaza Reconstruction: Why Invest Now?

With Secretary of State Clinton attending a donor conference in Egypt, many are asking why the United States should provide $300 million to reconstruct Gaza when there is a good chance that, as a result of continuing violence, whatever is built will again be destroyed. When I served as director of the US assistance program in the West Bank and Gaza, I asked myself this question repeatedly, particularly during the last three-and-a-half years of my tenure, as the intifada raged and we sought to maintain our activities on the ground.

The cynic answers that this is the price the United States, and others in the donor community, pay to maintain a relative calm. From the cynics’ perspective, the very generous levels of assistance serve to prevent an even more serious outbreak of violence. A reduction or cut-off of assistance would translate directly into an even worse humanitarian situation, with even larger numbers joining more militant groups. So, for many US policymakers $300 million or the several billion that have been provided since the 1993 Oslo Accords represent a small price to pay to avoid a larger conflagration.

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