CIAO DATE: 10/2008
April 2007
In April 2006, key donors including the USA, EU, and Canada suspended international aid to the Palestinian Authority government (PA), following the overwhelming victory of Hamas in parliamentary elections. The Government of Israel had previously suspended the transfer of the tax and customs revenues it collects on behalf of the PA.
Donors and Israel stated that their actions were in response to Hamas’ refusal to recognise the state of Israel, renounce violence, and accept previous political agreements including the Road Map. Donors and Israel argued that their goal was to pressure Hamas to change its platform, not to punish the Palestinian people.
However, the decision to suspend aid to the PA and withhold tax revenues has led to immense suffering. One year on, the number of Palestinian people living in poverty has jumped by 30 per cent, essential services are facing meltdown, and previously unknown levels of factional violence plague Palestinian streets. If this situation continues, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) risk becoming a ‘failed state’, destroying the chances of achieving a two-state solution. Oxfam believes that donors and Israel should urgently resume direct financial transfers to the PA.
UN Special Rapporteur John Dugard states that ‘the Palestinian people have been subject to economic sanctions — the first time an occupied people have been so treated’. Israel, he notes, has violated its obligation as an occupying power to provide for the welfare of the Palestinian people.
Three months after aid was suspended to the PA, the EU established the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM), which was designed to provide direct support to Palestinians without going through government channels. While supporting some of the poorest people, TIM has been unable to prevent the growing humanitarian crisis caused by the financial boycott and by the violence.
Aid alone is not a panacea for Palestinian poverty, nor will it deliver peace: that requires intensified efforts by all parties to seek a two-state solution. However, Oxfam has witnessed a rapid rise in suffering and insecurity as a result of the boycott of the PA. Many programmes operated by Oxfam and its partners in the water, health, and agriculture sectors have been placed in jeopardy.
Following the creation of a National Unity Government, the new Palestinian finance minister, Salam Fayyed, has called for the resumption of international aid to the PA. Norway has already agreed to resume this assistance, while Russia, France, and a number of other European governments considering financial transfers to the PA in order to improve the lives of Palestinians. It is imperative for Israel and other donors to follow suit.
Resource link: Poverty in Palestine: the human cost of the financial boycott [PDF] - 185K