Fighting Radical Islam with a Rising Middle Class

A blogger I never admired and maybe never will recently wrote a post about what he called 'incentive-baed solutions'. This was fancy-talk for some term he meant to coin and put on the index of our philosophy encyclopedias to mean that he believes 1. Israel and Palestine should recognize that neither of them are more legitimate an 2. it would benefit Israel to stop placing settlements in Palestine, treated the Palestinians to health care, a better water supply, ect., because then the jihadists would not have a reason to be so radical.

It was a post decorated with many impressive terms hiding its less-flashy ignorance.

First of all, this is not a solution. He is suggesting that Israel should gives aid to Palestine, not individualism. A better water supply should take on a more 'what's yours is yours and what's mine is mine' ideology letting the Palestinians have control over their own damn water.

 It seems as though this guy is suggesting that if Israel gives aid to the Palestinians, they will forget the Nakba and ideology that has turned into deeply-rooted fatwas, as well.

But, I hate being overly critical about this subject, especially when someone is at least trying something new. 

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One radical jihadist group this blogger speaks of, the Hamas, became more popular than the (considerably more diplomatic) Fatah among lower classes because they gave them food, bankets, and education. Like most dictator-like parties who know what they are doing, however, the Hamas used this education to spread propaganda.

I see recognizing this as the first step to understanding why giving Palestinians more opportunity for social mobility will decrease radical Islam. If they have access to more trade or economic entrepreneurship  no longer will it seem necessary to abide by the hand that feeds them. And no longer will the moderate Islamists be so fearful of the radical parties, or the other options. The Palestinian economy, in other words, doesn't need "hand-outs"; it needs an emerging middle-class.

This is easier said than thought out.

Up until about 1917, the Palestinians and Israelites had a functioning economy together, though, political issues created a bloody schism between them and racism ensued. The Israelites created their own economy out of self-defense. I would not argue Israel is acting out of self-defense today because settlers in Palestine have better grape harvests now  due to Israel restricting the Palestinians' water supply. (The only way this could be self-defense is if they are afraid the Palestinians will become so rich off of the trade they already restrict, they will overpower them. Which this idoleology makes sense to believe.)

The first step to Israel and Palestine taking on a more 'what's yours is yours and what's mine is mine' mentality doesn't begin with land, but water. In other words, if the Palestinians can control water for their grape fields (with sanctions in place), they can control their own product. The next step is to be able to control their own trade.

Grape farms in Palestine are possible exports, though they face water restrictions from Israel.

The Fatah has a set of Palestinian trade unions. Yipeee! If this hypothetical 'agreement' between Israel and Palestine were to occur, then these labor unions will need to be active, especially during trade. I would like to write another blog post about what these trade unions do other than dispute with the Hamas because it doesn't seem like they are helping their own cause (as much as they can, of course).

The U.S. has been helping some Palestinian success stories by giving them U.S.-style mortgages so they can sell real-estate.  I'm sure if trade goes up, real estate will become huge in certain areas. The only issue I could forsee is that the loans given by the U.S. are the same kind sub-prime ones that led to the 2008 financial collapse. Since lending loans to Palestinians in a hypothetically growing economy would require a kind of trust to those who have not had the best luck before, I see this as a must. The PA already owes about $2 million to creditors and banks, so this problem with foreign aid is slowly arising. The money needs to go to the people, not the billionaires. Money should be placed in trade and agriculture, THEN real estate.

I don't know...maybe I see I'm becoming a college socialist from this post.

*Sigh*. I want to keep this short. The issue with this almost utopic-vision is that radical groups may surpress Israel and Palestine having a short-term functioning economy. If they can just make it in the short-term until Palestinians can have a stronger middle class and the ability to speak out, they can build a more peaceful, more diplomatic political voice.