Bravo to Conservatives

Editorial

It was with glowing hearts that we witnessed Canada take a global lead last week in being among the first to announce its refusal to fund the terrorist regime in the Palestinian Authority.

When Hamas won the election in January, the world community was thrown into turmoil, not least because it placed countries in the position of choosing between cutting off funds – some of which go to aid ordinary Palestinians – and continuing to fund the duly elected government, which is also a terrorist organization.

It is in nobody's interest to make life more difficult for ordinary Palestinians. Adequate social services and the beginnings of a sustainable economic infrastructure are the goal of foreign aid. But unless and until Hamas can prove to the world that funds designated for constructive purposes are actually going to those designated services, all countries should follow Canada's lead and channel funds to Palestinians through recognized international charity channels.

Of course, this is not exactly the case being made by critics of the Hamas government. International recognition of the new Palestinian regime is being withheld not because international funds are being misused – that has been going on since the advent of the PA and it has never bothered the international community much. The demand being placed on the Palestinian government is that Hamas renounce violence and recognize Israel's existence and right to continue.

While it is reassuring to see international condemnation solidify around this core principle of mutual recognition and renunciation of violence, it is nonetheless symptomatic of a world community that acts only when the most explicit threats are unambiguously articulated. Until a government actually calls for the destruction of Jews and their state, the world community will not act. Better late than never – but the fact is that, before Hamas won the election, the world community abetted 13 years of official Palestinian propaganda and government policy that implicitly and violently sought the end of Jewish existence in the Middle East.

Even before the intifada began in 2000, but in irrefutable hard-copy proof thereafter, evidence showed that Yasser Arafat was personally funding and signing off on murderous attacks on Israeli civilians – even as he bleated the requisite words of peace that made foreign activists purr their support.

Finally, we face a Palestinian regime that is honest about its intentions. Not having the PR savvy (or the desire) to conceal their genuine intentions toward Israel, Hamas is punished by the global community.

Undoubtedly, things are not looking bright for Palestinians. But if democracy has a sharp learning curve, well, Palestinian voters will learn a powerful lesson about the power of the ballot to make them an international pariah state.

Canada and other countries should encourage the growth of peaceful civil society and nongovernmental organizations that serve the needs of Palestinians until a government evolves that is capable of standing in peace on the international stage with their neighbors. In the meantime, praises should be heaped upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and International Co-operation Minister Josée Verner. Canada may be on the road to returning to its traditional moral foreign policy.

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