Hasan Namle, 51, remembers better days. When he used to work in Israel, he could make as much as NIS6,000 (approx. $1,400) a month in the construction field, he says. Those days are long gone. He was barred from working in Israel in 1996, long before the Aqsa Intifada broke out. His crime was being suspected of having links to Hamas. He says he has none now and had none then. Nevertheless he was never allowed back and had to think of alternatives. Now he runs a small poultry shop in the camp. “I make 36 agarot per kilo. On a good day I will make NIS36 ($8),” he said, sprawled on a mattress where he and two sons sleep when it is warm on the porch outside their three-room dwelling. Read more about From layman to expert, economic prospects look bleak
Around half of the Palestinian population was living below the official poverty line last year, more than double the number in 2000, unemployment increased, and there is no hope for improvement unless guarded optimism on the political front is translated into economic activity, according to the latest review of the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory for 2004. The report summarises the main humanitarian trends in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2004. It is an updated version of the report submitted in November 2004 by UN agencies working in the occupied Palestinian territory to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee. Read more about UN review paints gloomy picture of 2004 economy in occupied Palestinian territory
The OPEC Fund for International Development today extended a US$2 million grant to help alleviate social and economic hardship among Palestinians affected by the so-called separation wall. The grant will co-finance a major initiative that aims to generate employment, boost agricultural productivity and improve access to basic social services among the concerned communities. An estimated 210,000 people reside in towns and villages in the West Bank that have been turned into isolated enclaves as a result of the separation wall. The wall has deprived people of education and healthcare facilities and cut off many agricultural communities from their farmland. The impact on economic activity and on the welfare of the population is severe. Read more about OPEC approves US$2 million grant to help Palestinians affected by Separation Wall
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has closed its investigation into the European Commission’s Direct Assistance to the Palestinian Authority’s budget. On the basis of the information currently available to OLAF, the investigation has found no conclusive evidence of support of armed attacks or unlawful activities financed by the European Commission’s contributions to the budget. However, the possibility of misuse of the Palestinian Authority’s budget and other resources, cannot be excluded, due to the fact that the internal and external audit capacity in the Palestinian Authority is still underdeveloped. Read more about European Anti-Fraud Office closes investigation into aid to Palestinian Authority
GAZA — Two members of the management board of the Palestine Investment Fund have submitted their resignations from the management board, an informed Palestinian source has confirmed to al-Quds (newspaper). The source added that businessman Samir Said Khouri and businessman Engineer Jawdat al-Khudari submitted their resignations effective this month from the Fund’s management board due to disagreements within the board over the mechanism for managing the Fund’s investments in Arab countries. Read more about Two members of the Management Board of the Palestine Investment Fund resign
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the importance of freedom of movement in occupied Palestinian lands in improving the economy, an essential pillar in securing peace with Israel. In a speech to the session Mr. Annan cited economic development as “the third pillar of the progress we hope to see,” side by side with governance and security, noting that without real and discernible change such as more jobs and the removal of Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, the Palestinian economy will continue to struggle, sowing prolonged, pervasive despair among the Palestinian populace. Read more about Secretary-General discusses shattered Palestinian economy
Jawwal, the Palestinian mobile operator has chosen Alcatel to replace part of its GSM network infrastructure, in the Gaza area. The multimillion dollars project will be completed by beginning of next year. Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will be responsible for the supply, installation, commissioning and integration of its multi-standard GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA radio access solution, including a period of optimization assistance. “One of our main goals is to continuously improve the quality of the services we provide to our customers,” said Hakam Kanafani, Chief Executive Officer of Jawwal. Read more about Alcatel chosen by the Palestinian operator Jawwal as mobile infrastructure supplier
A disengagement plan that is accompanied by a rolling back of Israel’s closure policy and a stronger Palestinian commitment to reform will bring the Palestinian economy out of its present stagnation, according to a World Bank report released today. Titled Stagnation or Revival? Israeli Disengagement and Palestinian Economic Prospects, the report further asserts that only significant new efforts by both parties can justify a major increase in donor aid beyond existing levels. The report states for an economic recovery to be possible, Israel will need to roll back the security-related system of restrictions on the movement of people and goods imposed since the beginning of the intifada. Read more about World Bank: Little chance of economic revival without lifting closures
Expressing concern over Israel’s extensive destruction of agricultural land and orchards in occupied Arab territories, the General Assembly would call on that country not to exploit, damage, cause loss, deplete or endanger natural resources in those territories, according to one of six draft resolutions approved today by the Second Committee. Approving that draft by a recorded 144 votes in favour, the Committee recommended that the Assembly reaffirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land and water. Read more about UN calls upon Israel not to exploit natural resources in occupied territory
Four years since the outbreak of the intifada in September 2000, the Palestinian economy continues to be mired in deep recession, according to a World Bank report released today. The third in a series of reports that examine the impact of the socio-economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza reveals that although the Palestinian economy recovered in 2003, this upturn is short-lived. The economy remains severely depressed compared with the pre-intifada period, with closures stifling economic activity and restricting the movement of people and goods. Read more about Worldbank: "Nearly half of Palestinian population lives in poverty"
