Even in an era of $30 billion here and there for various industry bailouts, $20 million still goes a long way. That’s all the more so for a relatively small population that is under-employed, has inadequate schools and needs more food. With that in mind, one has to wonder what the wonks at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are thinking these days with their allocations to a West Bank project.

The Washington-funded operation, according to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Acharonot, has embarked on a $20 million project to fund the replacement of road signs in the area with ones in Arabic. The problem – for the Palestinians – is that the current ones are in Hebrew, although when appropriate some also have Arabic and English. Mind you, most of the ones only in Hebrew point toward Jewish settlements. Besides, many West Bank Arabs read some Hebrew, which they have been exposed to all of their lives.

The official reason for this project is that USAID wants to help the Palestinians prepare for statehood. That in itself is a dangerous statement of intentions. One day, and perhaps sooner than some think, a Palestinian state will come into being. However, new road signs now will not even remotely advance the cause and it’s not USAID’s role to get ahead of the peace process. Rather, Palestinian political hopes will be achieved at the negotiating table when Arab rejectionists of the Jewish state are finally under control.

Besides, what’s wrong with some Hebrew road signs in the West Bank? After all, most of the markers in pre-1967 Israel are in Hebrew, Arabic and English. In fact, the first two are the state’s official languages. One wonders if the Palestinians would simply outlaw Hebrew were they to gain an independent state.

That said, any semblance of Israeli-Palestinian peace will include economic cooperation, which will be enhanced by clear road signage. It may seem like a minor detail, but it speaks loudly about future possibilities and intentions.
Instead of wasting money on irrelevant trappings of potential statehood, let’s pay attention to helping Palestinians promote democracy and tolerance, let alone building schools and clinics.