Pierre Rehov: The Mirage of 'Humanitarian Reconstruction': Billions for Gaza — But Who Will Prevent the Next Jihad?
The UNDP's own auditors uncovered more than 100 investigations into fraud, bribery, and "ghost projects." If corruption could flourish under nominal Iraqi government control, imagine the diversion potential in Gaza — where much of the terror regime remains intact.Cynical Publius: "America First" and Israel
Earlier UN experiments, such as the Oil-for-Food scandal, showed how -- when oversight is weak and politics trumps accountability -- "humanitarian" programs become self-enriching rackets.
For years, Hamas forces have been filmed confiscating relief shipments directly from UN trucks and warehouses. It is not chaos; it is a business model.
These are not isolated abuses — they form a structural pattern in which humanitarian efforts in fact bankroll jihad.
After Hamas's October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, investigations confirmed that many UNRWA employees participated in or facilitated the Hamas attacks, leading more than 20 donor countries — including the U.S., Canada, and Germany — to suspend funding. Some countries, however, under political pressure, resumed payments months later, even as fresh evidence emerged of UNRWA staff ties to Hamas's military wing.
The U.S. administration... continues to push for a "political process" aimed at reviving a desired "peace framework" partially disconnected from the region's realities. Washington may view reconstruction as a path to normalization, but for Israel — the country whose citizens were massacred and whose borders remain under threat — security comes before expediency, and survival before consent.
"Are you America First or Israel First?" is a false dilemma. It is precisely because I am "America First" that I wholly support current U.S. policies regarding Israel. Support for Israel is solidly in America's best interests.Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser: If Hamas Refuses to Disarm, Israel Will Finish the Job with American Backing
I lived for extended periods in the Middle East and in other Islamic nations both in military and civilian capacities and I know the ideas and policies that define the region. The entire history of Islam, literally since its inception, is a history of conquering other lands to force their inhabitants to become Muslims.
In Muslim Arab countries, it is possible to become friends with highly educated, highly rational people who are some of the smartest humans you will ever meet. Yet, sadly, when the subject of Israel and/or Judaism comes up, they suddenly lapse into astonishingly irrational beings, asserting wildly antisemitic tropes straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Islamic nations have views on personal liberty that are completely and utterly opposed to Western civilization. Every nation but one in the Middle East offers only totalitarian, tyrannical governance. Israel is the only nation in the region that shares Western values of democracy, self-governance, the rule of law, and guaranteed personal liberties.
Israel is a tremendous military ally to the U.S., sharing military intelligence and technology. The only intelligence service that rivals the CIA and the UK's MI6 is Mossad, and the intelligence we share with each other is greatly beneficial to both nations.
Since its inception in its modern form, Israel has been surrounded by Muslim states with a singular purpose of destroying Israel and all of its Jewish inhabitants. Yet the citizens of Israel made the desert bloom and built an economic and military powerhouse out of nothing. We Americans who understand our own pioneering history can see the similarity to our own nation and cannot help but admire it.
Israel has a technology industry that is second only to Silicon Valley, and when it comes to cybersecurity, arguably better. The U.S. and world economies depend greatly on the innovation and products of the Israeli people. Right now, if you are reading this, the only reason you can do so safely without divulging your bank account and other deeply personal information is thanks to Israel.
"Gaza genocide" is a nonsense myth. Israel had for decades offered peace and compromises, and Hamas and Gaza's citizens rejected all of that in favor of death and destruction. Israel's response in Gaza was EXACTLY what the U.S. would have done when faced with a similar situation. To a certain extent, Israel has fought jihad so you and I do not have to. Israel's continued existence benefits America in every way imaginable. So please don't pretend that support for Israel is anti-American.
The Trump Plan outlines a path for far-reaching change in Gaza, which is to become a de-radicalized, terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors. For this vision to have any chance of success, the Palestinian narrative must change from one that denies the Jewish people's right to a state in the Land of Israel and glorifies the struggle to destroy it, to one prepared to build peaceful relations with the Jewish state.
That change must begin with an internal reckoning - an acknowledgment that the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack was a grievous mistake, and that Israel cannot be defeated, certainly not by force. So far, Hamas remains defiant, reflecting not only a refusal to surrender power but also an awareness that disarmament would symbolize an admission of error and guilt.
During the events marking the attack's second anniversary, Arab media criticism did not challenge the "heroism" of Hamas's attackers or the supposed legitimacy of using violence to drive Israel out. Rather, it focused on Hamas's failure to anticipate Israel's response - that exacted a devastating price in lives and property. Even media close to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood expressed criticism, noting the heavy price the Iranian axis had paid for Hamas's short-sightedness.
What forced Hamas to yield on the hostages? Israel's determination to press ahead on the capture of Gaza City - despite intense international pressure, the wave of Western recognition of a Palestinian state, and the potential costs, together with the massive destruction inflicted on Gaza's infrastructure that included collapsing high-rise buildings - created severe distress within Hamas's ranks.
Although Hamas's propaganda campaigns about "starvation" and "genocide" were highly effective, they failed to stop Israel's offensive. Now the U.S. and Israel must assess whether additional measures can shape how Oct. 7 is ultimately remembered in the Palestinian national consciousness.
Israel and the U.S. must reiterate a credible military threat: if Hamas refuses to disarm, Israel - with full American backing - will resume combat and finish the job. President Trump continues to signal this. Washington and Jerusalem should condition the next stages of the plan - opening the Rafah crossing, expanding humanitarian aid, and launching reconstruction - on Hamas's disarmament.
The mediators must be pressed to use their leverage. They should be made to understand that failure to achieve Hamas's disarmament will not only lead to its forcible removal but will also affect their own relations with the U.S.






















