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Intensified Aid And Urgent Action Needed To Avert Palestinian Economic Collapse

12 September 2006


The economy of the occupied Palestinian territory is on the verge of collapse, a new UNCTAD report warns. Dwindling donor support has left the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a perilous financial position and UNCTAD projections indicate that per capita income for 2006 will be half pre-2000 levels, unemployment will affect half the Palestinian workforce by the end of the year, and two out of three Palestinian households will fall below the poverty level. The report cautions that even under a more positive scenario of increased aid, greater mobility, and the resumption of Israeli transfers of tax revenues to the PA, the Palestinian economy is unlikely to achieve sustained growth. 

"We don't want more Palestinians here!"

Nadia Hasan Amman, Jordan 14 September 2006


Yesterday I came to Aqaba, Jordan, and today I went to the border at 8 am. I was nervous, but at the same time I felt good, doing something that I had been anticipating for a long time. I crossed the Jordanian border without any problem, only 15 minutes later I picked up my bag again and started walking to the Palestinian side which is controlled by Israel. Two armed guys were waiting there and asked me for my passport. They look each other and asked me “Where are you from?” despite that one of them had my Chilean passport in his hand. After that I went to the questioning room, and two other officers were there and asked me the normal questions — well, normal by Israeli standards. 

Dissecting Israel's freeze on visas

Rima Merriman 13 September 2006


Israel is implementing an undeclared policy of denying foreign nationals entry/re-entry into the oPt in order to achieve the following political objectives: to isolate Palestinians, to continue its control over demographics in favor of the Jewish population, and to punish Palestinians personally and developmentally because of the January election results. Israel’s security claims regarding this policy are false. In many cases, this policy amounts to deportation. Many of those now being denied entry are, in fact, residents of the oPT (for family or work reasons). 

Lifting of blockade brings hope to Beirut

12 September 2006


For the past five days, since Israel lifted its nearly two-month-old naval and air blockade on Lebanon, Beirut’s residents have been anxious to see signs that the country’s deteriorating economy is recovering. However, given the plethora of problems the 34-day war in July and August brought, the mood in Lebanon’s capital is a mix of hope and indifference. “No doubt, the fact that the blockade has been lifted is a good thing,” said taxi driver Fadi Saab. “But I think it will take some time before things will actually improve, because the effects of the war were so overreaching.” 

Poverty drives children to work at checkpoints

12 September 2006


Six months of a crippling international embargo on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) has brought its economy to a virtual standstill. As a result, children are being driven increasingly to find work to help support their families. “After my father became jobless, I joined my friends to work at the checkpoint in order to support my 11-member family,” said Subhi Abdullah 16, referring to his unofficial job at al-Hawawer Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron. While plans were announced on Monday for a Palestinian unity government that could meet conditions to have the embargo lifted, ordinary Palestinians continue to suffer. 

One year after disengagement, ghosts remain

Rami Almeghari Palestine 12 September 2006

Bloodshed, destruction and fear are the remnants of the Israeli occupation army across the Gaza Strip since the Israeli settlers were evacuated on September 12, 2005 army. A year has passed since the Israeli ‘disengagement’ from Gaza, and since then there remains only the Israeli occupation’s ghost, moving from one place to another throughout the Gaza Strip — home to 1.3 million Palestinians, one of the most crowded places on earth. In myths we learned that a ghost can never kill, but instead sabotages one’s life by haunting its victims - causing panic, leaving no room for peaceful sleep. 

The Israel Veolia "Connexxion"

Adri Nieuwhof 13 September 2006


Veolia’s partnership in an Israeli project for a tramline, to be constructed on occupied Palestinian territory in East Jerusalem has drawn the attention of advocacy groups around the world who have responded to the call by Palestinian civil society for campaigns of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Building on an earlier article about the tramline in East Jerusalem with Veolia Environment head office in France and a Dutch Bank that invests in the company, Adri Nieuwhof further explores the background of the transnational company Veolia Environment. 

British-Muslim delegation returns from Lebanon

11 September 2006


A British-Muslim delegation under the broad heading ‘United for Lebanon’ returned to London on Saturday, 26 August 2006, following a fact-finding visit to Lebanon. The group, which included Dr Phyllis Starkey MP and which was supported by a diverse group of Muslim organizations and charities, including the Muslim Council of Britain, Al-Khoei Foundation, the Muslim Association of Britain, Interpal, and the British Muslim Forum, looked at the extent of devastation and internal displacement following the recent ceasefire in the region. 

Palestinians in Iraq under attack, but unable to flee

10 September 2006


Amid widespread sectarian violence in Iraq, Palestinian refugees in Iraq face particularly grave security threats, including targeted killings by mostly Shi’a militant groups and harassment by the Iraqi government, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Countries in the region such as Jordan and Syria must open their borders to Iraqi Palestinians at risk, and the international community must urgently respond to their plight by providing financial assistance to the host countries and third-country resettlement opportunities on a humanitarian basis. 

Gaza shelves bare

11 September 2006


Gaza City’s shopping markets used to be the richest in the Palestinian territories, but six months into a crippling trade embargo, stocks are running low. “This is the tenth store I approach to buy a single box of powdered milk for my little baby. I do not know what to do. I am ready to pay double price for having only one package, but there is none”, said 32-year-old Tareq Omar after he failed to find any powdered milk for his one-year-old baby in Gaza’s Al-Zawiya market. An economic embargo by the United States, the European Union (EU) and Israel was imposed on the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) following the democratic election of a Hamas-led Palestinian government in February.