Speaking from Jerusalem, while on a three-country tour of the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined plans to pour aid into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. “We are in the process of providing more than $360 million of urgent support for the Palestinian people,” Blinken announced, albeit acknowledging that he would coordinate with the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel “to ensure that Hamas does not benefit from these reconstruction efforts.” However, that Hamas will benefit is a foregone conclusion, and Blinken shows profound ignorance if he does not understand why.

Put aside the fact that Hamas is an authoritarian movement that wields absolute control over the Gaza Strip. In 2007, a year after winning plurality support in Palestinian elections, Hamas rampaged through the Gaza Strip executing any more centrist Palestinian officials who did not have the foresight to flee. No nongovernmental organization, charity, or press outlet can operate without Hamas oversight or buy-in. Blinken may pretend he is not channeling taxpayer money to Hamas shells, but he fools no one in the region. Indeed, prior to pouring money into Gaza, he might ask how Hamas managed to divert thousands of tons of concrete to building military tunnels under the nose of the U.N.