There is an informative interview on Al-Jazeera’s website with Muhammad Samhouri, the general coordinator of the PA’s “Technical Committee For Following Disengagement”. Samhouri, who’s a US-trained economist, supervises a team of 40 experts who are handling the technical details of the Gaza disengagement from the Palestinian side.
The interviewer is Leila Haddad.
Some excerpts:
- To what extent is there coordination with the Israelis?
It is minimal. We still didn
The danger is that the world will simply send the IMF and World Bank into Gaza and the whole place will get screwed up the way these projects always do. It is a failing of the left (a term I use without aspersion) to see this kind of development only in terms of aid to the Palestinian government, without looking at the much more significant restrictions or freedoms for private individuals.
The lack of mineral and water rights was a key reason Clinton failed to get agreement with Arafat back in 2000. They would get the land but they couldn’t use it.
Anyway, thank you for that interview.
The Quaker book that Helena co-authored, When the Rain Returns, showed that already 4-5 years ago all access was closed off except under the extremely disruptive Israeli conditions, some of which are mentioned again here (and which still are not acknowledged by the MSM). The whole story of the Gaza withdrawal was another opportunity for the MSM to reveal the lack of access across the Palestinian territory, and once again, it did not.
I haven’t read Jonathan yet, but it seems like access through Egypt is the natural long term solution. Like Salah says, everything is an internal affair between Arabs and they’ll figure their answers out.
BTW, the phrase
“Giving us a couple of billion dollars is necessary, but not sufficient.”
coming from the ones who victimized the West with all forms of terrorism, sided with Nazi Germany in WWII, the Russians during the Cold War, and Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War, wins the Nobel prize of arrogance.
David
I agree with David these gulf groups specially Qatar they have very large scale of building development larger that what Qatar represent in the land and state because the high oil prices and lower number of population (the recent project is the rotating City Project, the Wonder of the world cost initially 1.2Billion Dollars)also Saudis they expected surpluses of 105 Billions, I think they should enforced by World Bank, US and UN to build the city for Palestinians Refugee instead wasting the money by irresponsible Kings and Prices
Sorry Helen for being out of topic
But please give your support to Cindy
Folks ask me what I think Cindy Sheehan and her devoted supporters need most at Camp Casey. In my view, the answer is simple: They have built it; will you come? Your bodies are needed on site to help petition our government for redress of the grievance of reckless endangerment of the bodies and the souls of the young men and women sent off to wage an unnecessary war.”
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050819/cant_make_it_to_crawford.php
As long as they don’t give ’em A-C-C-E-S-S to suicide bomb/Qassam rockets victims.
There is no way to give them economic access without giving them bomb access. If the Ps make money, but their political demands are not considered, then that’s going to be a bad situation for the Israelis. Then the Ps can just buy better rockets.
Adn putting aside David’s sad attempt to inflame, I’m sure the Ps would be better off without a dollar of his aid (and the moral high horse that goes along with it), if they are burdened by rules that make it impossible for them to succeed.
I’d be very surprised if the Israelis decide to give them bomb access.
Well that’s quite a riddle then isn’t it. How to improve the economy while still keeping all the people and goods bottled up in Gaza…. hmmmm….
if you head an elected government, you have to place the lives of your citizens (the voters) ahead of the economic convenience of your declared enemies…it’s easy for us to say that Israel should take a chance that Hamas, with the Gaza settlers removed, will turn to economic development now and foresake acts of violence targeting Israelis across the Green Line…that would be great but don’t bet the ranch on it.
Wellbasically, what they would be better off is just a curiosity you pull out off thin air as long as they pocket my aid and cash my checks. You want the moral high ground, refuse my stinking aid.
There are no burdening rules. They are free to find something productive to do with their own two hands (other than assempling belts), hopefully something that the world wants, make a left turn to Cairo and tap the huge population of Egypt, the captive markets of the Billion plus moslems, or the world market. Unlike the shamefull Arab embargo applied against Israel, there is no embargo on Palestinian goods.
You want separation, take separation and stop begging.
David
I can argue the Israeli position better than you can. You say they can go to Egypt… obviously you are ignorant of the fact that everything that goes from Gaza to Egypt will have to be approved to pass through Israeli checkpoints first. As long as the Israelis are at war with the Palestinians, they have to do this, otherwise the Eqyptians can simply drive weapons right up to the border with Israel.
Gaza will be a mini-state except without the ability to bring in modern materials like chemicals, and with severly restricted land transportation and probably no sea or air transportation.
The militant side of the Israelis have little interest in seeing Gaza work. Private enterprise requires engagement, and will sap the support for the militarist government of Israel. An economically wealthy Palestinian state would also seek political power which means military power. Finally lots of militant Israelis think that the Arabs are a lower form of life, and economic equality would hurt that comforting illusion.
Wellbasically,
You seem to make a lot of unfounded assumptions in your last paragraph. What’s more, you talk about an “economically wealthy” Palestine. How about setting a more modest short-term goal, like a Palestine that can support and feed its own people?
Actually Israel – even what you call the “militarist government” – has a very strong interest in an economically viable Gaza. Why on earth would we want a million impoverished Palestinian Arabs, growing at a rate of 3.5% a year on our borders?
Finally, I find it odd that you don’t see the Palestinians as having any part in determining exactly what kind of economy they will have. Prior to September 2000, they were pretty open to resources. I recall the sheer number of laden trucks with Palestinian plates that I saw heading both ways on the highways in Israel. What’s more, you seem to forget that there was an airport open in Gaza and pretty much free passage between Gaza and the West Bank. They received literaly billions in aid, which by all accounts was frittered away on graft and a pointless “armed struggle”. I think it’s about time that the Palestinians start viewing themselves as responsible for their actions rather than as feckless victims.
Billions in aid… who’s your sugardaddy, baby?
“Unlike the shamefull Arab embargo applied against Israel, there is no embargo on Palestinian goods.”
More shamefully grabing the Arab land by force and build settlement on occupied land ignoring all the International community concerns also more shamefully that Israel not obeying most of UN resolutions that issued in regard of the Palestinian case, David.
Shameful embargo it was, and it soiled the Arabs applying the embargo just like hijacking airplanes, murdering athlethes, poisoning oranges, setting forests on fire, and endless outrages your coalition of sore losers resorted to.
David
“Shameful embargo it was, and it soiled the Arabs applying the embargo just like hijacking airplanes, murdering athlethes, poisoning oranges, setting forests on fire, and endless outrages your coalition of sore losers resorted to.”
Typical, experiencing from Zionists like you years and years ago.
You
JES– I am very happy to host your feisty and often v. intelligent comments here on the blog. But sometimes I think you let your arguments run ahead of the facts?
Prior to September 2000… there was an airport open in Gaza and pretty much free passage between Gaza and the West Bank. They received literaly billions in aid, which by all accounts was frittered away on graft and a pointless “armed struggle”…
The airport opened briefly and v. belatedly in 2000 and was bombed to smithereens by the IDF in 2002. There absolutely was NOT free passage between Gaza and the WB prior to 2000. In fact one of the first things that happened after Oslo in ’93 was erecting the entire fence araound Gaza and caging the Palestinians in there. Some of the PA’s aid was squandered (as some of Israel’s is, too.) But actually the World Bank and other monitors found the PA accounting systems pretty thorough. They were put in place by PA Finance Minister and previous IMF official Salim Fayyad.
What DID end up being a major “wastage” of aid-funded assets was the IDF’s systematic destruction of all major Palestinian infrastructure projects in spring 2002. The EU donors were extremely upset about that…
As for your estimation that social programs here in the US are better than Israel’s…. I urge you to come live here a while and see how very deeply inferior they in fact are. Nationwide health insurance, children’s allowances to families, etc etc… You have ’em there; we don’t have ’em here. I wish we did! Since I grew up in the UK I find the intense focus of the US system on free-market economics completely barbaric.
And everyone, please could you back off from launching broad and stereotyping accusations against other commenters here?? Talk about “your coalition of sore losers” sounds a lot more like childish braggardoccio than it sounds courteous.
Well Helena,
Fact is that there was a lot of trade and commerce between Israel and the PA, and between the PA and the Arab world (primarily Jordan). I believe that the airport, at Dahaniyya I believe, was opened prior to 2000, but that does not change the fact that there was relatively open access across the borders. (I think that you cannot cross freely wherever, and whenever you want across most borders!)
Now, I suggest that you answer a couple of questions.
First, why exactly did Israel bomb the airport “to smithereens”, as you say? (I believe that what was actually bombed to smitereens were Arafat’s two private helicopters – or “jobbers” as Saeb Erekat likes to call them – and his private jet.)
Second, do you think that Israel bombed Palestinian infrastructure (such as it was) just for the hell of it?
Finally, you know damn well that up until Arafat’s death, Salam Fayyad had very little control over PA funds which were centralized under Arafat and his money man Rashid. Just from the cursory search that I did, I found that in 1997 some 40% of the PA budget was unaccounted for, and to the best of my knowledge, much of the money from Arafat’s time remains unaccounted for. I don’t think that the fact that only 40% of the money can’t be found constitutes a “pretty thorough” accounting system!