|
Key Events
Cutting Aid to Palestine (30 March 2006)
In December 2005, following a visit to Israel, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana threatened to curb aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas would win the January parliamentary elections. Following the Palestinian parliamentary elections, donor countries such as Canada, the United States, the EU and Japan have cut their assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
In December 2005, following a visit to Israel, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana threatened to curb aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas would win the January parliamentary elections. Solana's remarks came at a time when the EU backtracked on plans to publish a report highly critical of Israeli policy towards Palestinians in East Jerusalem. He quickly followed a resolution passed by the US Congress that conditioned future financial aid to the Palestinian Authority on the exclusion of Hamas from the Palestinian elections. On March 30, the Middle East Quartet made up of the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia said that the refusal of the Hamas-led Palestinian Government to commit to "non-violence, recognition of Israel" and other principles will inevitably have an effect on direct assistance to it.
Analysis & Opinion
One-sided collective punishment legislation passed by U.S. House, Council for the National Interest (9 December 2006)
Apartheid: Israelis adopt what South Africa dropped, John Dugard (29 November 2006)
Letter: European inaction and complicity as Gaza burns, Ali Abunimah (6 November 2006)
The Demographic and Economic War against Palestinians, Samar Assad (5 November 2006)
Palestinian NGOs accuse EU of double standards after Solana meets Lieberman, Ma'an (2 November 2006)
World silent as fascists join Israel government, Ali Abunimah (24 October 2006)
Aid and the Palestine Financial Crisis: A viewpoint on an ongoing debate, Mohammed El-Samhouri (28 April 2006)
Yes Mr. Solana, the EU has abandoned the Palestinian people, Ali Abunimah (25 April 2006)
The West's strategy in Palestine will weaken civil society, Iain Guest (20 April 2006)
Punishing the Victim: Donors cutting aid to the PA, PCHR (21 April 2006)
Hamas Being Forced To Collapse, Sam Bahour (17 April 2006)
Asking Hamas for the moon: Severing ties illustrates flawed policy, Arjan El Fassed (31 March 2006)
 |
| The Middle East Quartet concluded on January 30 that it was inevitable that future assistance to any new government would be reviewed by donors. (UN Photo) |
What aid cutoff to Hamas would mean, David R. Francis, Christian Science Monitor (27 February 2006)
Punishing Hamas is punishing the Palestinian people, Hasan Abu Nimah (22 February 2006)
Singling out the Palestinians? Reciprocal demands are the key to peace, Moshe Behar (11 February 2006)
World Bank Chief Backs Continued Palestinian Aid, Worldbank (6 February 2006)
We will not sell our people or principles for foreign aid, Khaled Meshal (31 January 2006)
Civil Society Strikes
Six months without pay sparks teachers' strike in Gaza and West Bank, Rachel Bonham Carter (5 September 2006)
Civil Servant Strike Continues in the OPT, PCHR (5 September 2006)
Students face challenges as new school year begins in Gaza and the West Bank, Jane O'Brien (4 September 2006)
Teachers; strike keeps children at home, IRIN (3 September 2006)
Strikes paralyse Palestinian health sector, IRIN (31 August 2006)
Government Responses
EU: Resumption of aid depends on new cabinet's acceptance of Quartet demands (17 March 2007)
UK Parliamentary Report slams Western boycott against Palestine, House of Commons (31 January 2007)
UN and other members of diplomatic 'Quartet' back continued aid to Palestinians, UN News (22 December 2006)
Diplomatic Quartet backs international mechanism to aid Palestinian people, UN News (17 June 2006)
At UN session, Middle East diplomatic Quartet endorses direct aid to Palestinians, UN News (10 May 2006)
World Bank Report: "Palestinian crisis is worse than expected", Worldbank (8 May 2006)
Annan to host Quartet meeting on Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Tuesday, UN News (5 May 2006)
Yes Mr. Solana, the EU has abandoned the Palestinian people, Ali Abunimah (25 April 2006)
Intransigence of Hamas Government will affect aid: Quartet, UN News (30 March 2006)
UN Special Coordinator urges continued support for Palestinian Authority, UNDPI (28 February 2006)
Appeals for Urgent Support to Stabilize Palestinian Authority’s Finances heard as Palestinian Rights Committee Convenes, UNDPI (10 February 2006)
EU statement on aid to Palestinian Authority after the elections (30 January 2006)
NGO responses
Palestinian human rights groups address UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, various undersigned (29 November 2006)
The International Community Must end the Collective Punishment of the Palestinian People, Various undersigned (3 October 2006)
Oxfam calls on world leaders to lift Palestinian aid freeze at Stockholm conference, Oxfam (31 August 2006)
ICRC steps up aid, calls for action to avert major humanitarian crisis, ICRC (12 June 2006)
Urgent Mission to Gaza and Call to Israel to Assume Responsibility, PHR (8 June 2006)
Aid agencies: Suspension of aid is accelerating slide into crisis, AIDA (4 May 2006)
Trócaire seeks clarity from the Irish Government on aid to the Palestinian Authority, Trócaire (24 April 2006)
Médecins Sans Frontières refuses to be a "social palliative" of EU and US policies, MSF (13 April 2006)
Oxfam criticizes EU decision to suspend aid to Palestinian Authority, Oxfam (10 April 2006)
 |
| Israel has repeatedly closed the main trade access point, the Karni crossing, for two out of every three days so far this year. As a result essential food supplies including bread, sugar and yoghurt have become scarce for the 1.3 million people in Gaza. (MaanImages/Wesam Saleh) |
Local NGO's: "Respect of election results is the only way forward", OPGAI (16 February 2006)
Aid Agencies call upon donor governments to continue providing aid to the Palestinian people, AIDA (14 February 2006)
Aid cuts will hit Palestinians, Christian Aid (3 February 2006)
UN Cairo Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People
United Nations Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People concludes, UN DPI (27 April 2006)
Cairo meeting addresses economic, humanitarian crisis in Palestinian Territory, UN DPI (26 April 2006)
Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People opens in Cairo, Secretary-General calls on international community to intensify support for Palestinians, UN DPI (26 April 2006)
Humanitarian Impact
Oxfam Survey: Financial Boycott Pushes Palestinians into poverty, Oxfam International (13 April 2007)
One-third of Palestinians 'food insecure' (22 March 2007)
With the Palestine Medical Relief Society in Jenin, Dr. Bill Dienst (14 December 2006)
The state of public health in the occupied Palestinian territory, Nadeem Muaddi (17 November 2006)
Gaza shelves bare, IRIN (11 September 2006)
Palestinian Health Ministry in financial crisis, World Health Organization warns, WHO (1 September 2006)
Gaza siege causing major health crisis, IRIN (29 August 2006)
International blockades threaten Palestinian schools, Toni O'Loughlin (29 August 2006)
UN Health Rights Expert criticizes donors for failing their humanitarian responsibilities, OHCHR (22 June 2006)
Growing crisis in Palestine, Trócaire (16 June 2006)
UN Health Rights Expert criticizes donors for failing their humanitarian responsibilities, OHCHR (22 June 2006)
Growing crisis in Palestine, Trócaire (16 June 2006)
Empty Pockets, Growling Stomachs in Gaza, Rami Almeghari (21 April 2006)
UN warns of humanitarian crisis in Palestine, OCHA (20 April 2006)
Dire situation for hospital, says director of Augusta Victoria in Jerusalem, ACT (19 April 2006)
Economic Impact
Economic developments in 2006: A First Assessment, Worldbank/IMF (28 March 2007)
Financial boycott sends Palestinian poverty numbers soaring, finds UN report, UN News (24 November 2006)
The Demographic and Economic War against Palestinians, Samar Assad (5 November 2006)
Bleak Ramadan in Palestine, Khalid Amayreh (7 October 2006)
Information Brief: The Gaza Economy, Sara Roy (2 October 2006)
Poverty drives children to work at checkpoints, IRIN (12 September 2006)
Difficult conditions for Palestinian economy can be overcome, study finds, UNCTAD (11 May 2006)
Poverty in the Gaza Strip, PCHR (10 May 2006)
West Bank and Gaza Update, Worldbank (29 April 2006)
Related Links
BY TOPIC: Gaza Food Crisis
BY TOPIC: Aid Under Attack
BY TOPIC: Development
BY TOPIC: Palestinian Authority
|  |
|
|
