What to do about Gaza?

Global do-gooders galore operate in the Hamas-ruled strip on Israel’s border, moved by the much-publicized, but genuine, plight of its population. Yet Hamas does everything it can to turn ploughshares into swords.

Israel has been proving this this week by exposing illicit activities in an alphabet soup of international humanitarian bodies active in Gaza, many of them lavishly funded by American taxpayers.

On Tuesday, Israeli police announced the arrest of Waheed al-Bursh, a contractor for the United Nations Development Program and, according to Israel, a Hamas operative as well. Bursh was one of those lucky Gazans hired by the UN agency after the 2014 war. His task: Demolish bomb-damaged houses and remove the rubble.

According to Israeli authorities, whenever munitions, arms or war tunnels were found in the rubble, Bursh let Hamas handle them rather than notify the United Nations, as his contract requires. He also used UNDP resources to help Hamas construct a naval base in northern Gaza.

Last week, Israel announced the arrest of Mohammad el-Halabi, the manager of Gaza operations of World Vision, a Christian charity operating in 100 countries around the world. According to Israeli authorities, Halabi funneled $50 million of World Vision funds to Hamas.

Israeli officials have indicated this is only the tip of the iceberg. During the investigation of Bursh, they say, they turned up other operatives of international organizations moonlighting for Hamas.

And remember, it was Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli towns that have led to these rounds of war with Israel. Aid meant to ease pain in the aftermath of such wars shouldn’t end up helping Hamas wage the next round.

Better throw your good money in the trash can.

And yes, we’re talking about good money. In 2014, the US government funded World Vision to the tune of nearly $200 million. That same year, the UNDP received nearly a half-billion dollars from American taxpayers. (And agency chief Helen Clark has been trying to garner United States support in her campaign to become the next UN secretary-general.)

So it’s time to stop financing every new round of Hamas’ war on Israel.

Yet the most we’ve done so far is tut-tutting. The State Department is “following the Israeli investigation closely,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said Monday, adding, “If confirmed, Hamas’ embezzlement of humanitarian assistance funds [intended for] some of the most vulnerable people would be reprehensible.”

While America is following, Australia is acting. Last week Canberra announced a suspension of all government aid to World Vision until the Israeli legal process is completed. The United States didn’t. It sounded like the United Nations instead.

Israel has recently sped up the transfer of humanitarian goods to Gaza, according to a July report sponsored by the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States. It clearly realizes that easing the dire needs of the strip’s 1.3 million people is to its advantage.

Yet Israel can’t compromise on its own security and allow the exploitation of world sympathy and taxpayer dollars to bolster the military capabilities of an organization sworn to annihilate the Jewish state.

So Israel is caught between a rock and a hard place. Hamas has complete control over goings-on inside Gaza.

Israel left the strip a decade ago (even as it’s still accused of being its “occupier”). Now all Israel can do is expose abuse when it finds it.

We can help by withholding funds from international aid groups facilitating such abuse, making sure that our money goes to helping Gazans in need, rather than terrorists.