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40 Years After 1967: Need for Peace Greater than Ever
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Diplomacy Update: U.S. Statements, Benchmark Plan and Quartet Meeting
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Jerusalem Redux: Past, Present and Future of the Holy City
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Humanitarian Focus:
West Bank and Gaza
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1. 40 YEARS AFTER 1967 WAR: NEED FOR PEACE GREATER THAN EVER
The beginning of June marks forty years since the 1967 War between Israel
and the Arab states and the beginning of the occupation. The war and the
ensuing occupation drastically altered the daily reality of the conflict
while at the same time creating a mode by which it could be resolved
through territorial compromise. The “land for peace” formula, enshrined
in UN resolution 242, laid the groundwork for the two-state solution and
is the basis of the recently re-launched Arab League Peace Initiative.
However, four decades later, this peace has yet to be realized and the
years of unresolved conflict have wreaked havoc on both Israelis and
Palestinians and continue to damage a region that has failed to stabilize,
to the detriment of all of its peoples and to the national security
interests of the United States. The escalating violence in and around
Gaza, with intra-Palestinian fighting, rocket attacks by Palestinian
militant groups and Israeli military responses, is threatening to usher in
yet another summer of war and only highlights the urgent need for a
resolution of the conflict. Without a political context that includes a
viable peace process, Palestinian factional hostilities, Israeli domestic
politics, and the new spiraling violence in Gaza may overtake any possible
progress. As we mark this 40th anniversary, now is a time to
seize opportunities for moving forward. The end-game for
Israeli-Palestinian peace is known: two states based on the 1967 borders,
with a secure Israel living alongside a viable and contiguous Palestinian
state and sharing the city of Jerusalem. The United States has a unique
role to play in bringing the two parties together to work toward the goal
of final status negotiations. Let’s hope it will not take another forty
years to get there.
Below are two articles highlighting the importance of U.S. engagement to help bring about an Israeli-Palestinian final
settlement and laying out steps that the United States could take to
reinvigorate the peace process.
U.S. Must Lead for Middle East Progress,
Mara Rudman and Brian Katulis, Washingtonpost.com, May
28, 2007
“With the one year anniversaries of the kidnappings of
Israeli soldiers by Palestinian Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah fast
approaching, rumblings of another major conflict in the Middle East are in
the air. Palestinians in Gaza are caught in the daily crossfire of fierce
fights among Palestinian militant factions, tentative cease-fires are made
and broken, and Qassam rockets are firing from that chaos into southern
Israel. Many worry that extremists are working towards a repeat of last
summer's conflicts…The situation on the ground in Israel, the West Bank
and Gaza, rarely improves in a vacuum of diplomatic activity. Neither the
Israeli nor the Palestinian leaderships are operating from a strong
domestic base. In such a context, near-term politics can often over-ride
long-term national interests. The United States can help make the
difference in this equation, aided by regional and other actors, by laying
out a political horizon, a path for getting there, and committing itself
to be a reliable participant in the process…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/28/AR2007052801669_pf.html
“Ten Commandments for Mideast Peace”,
Daniel Levy, Ghaith al-Omari
and Robert Malley, The American Prospect, May 20, 2007
“..For the first time in
six years, Washington is putting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations near the
top of its agenda. For the first time, it wants those negotiations to
address the fundamental political issues that divide the two sides and has
begun to evoke the need to lay out what the administration calls a
political horizon…Movement on the peace process is important on its own
merits, but -- more important from a U.S. perspective -- there are
critical benefits to America's national security as well…During the 1990s
and into the early 2000s, the three of us worked on Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations for our respective peace teams -- Israeli, American, and
Palestinian. Much has changed since those days, little of it for the
better. Still, many lessons remain -- from the failures no less than from
successes -- of that previous experience…we herewith offer 10
recommendations regarding what the United States ought to do -- and what
it ought to avoid…”
Link to full
article
2.
Diplomacy UPDATE: U.S. STATEMENTS, BENCHMARK PLAN and QUARTET Meeting
Vigorous diplomacy is required as the Israeli-Palestinian situation once
again threatens to spiral out of control, with the current Gaza crisis.
Cause for hope is an announcement that Israeli Prime Minister Olmert
and Palestinian President Abbas plan to meet next week in the West Bank
city of Jericho and that Secretary Rice intends to continue promoting
efforts toward a two-state solution, despite the current setbacks. Below are several items including recent statements by
U.S. officials, background on the “benchmark” plan, and the outcome of the
most recent meeting of the Quartet.
U.S. Statements:
[On Gaza violence and U.S. Peace Efforts] "Interview
With Zain Verjee, CNN, Secretary Condoleezza Rice",
Potsdam, Germany, May 30, 2007
"...The Qassam rockets attacks
need to stop, and they need to stop now. And we understand that there are
going to be -- there's going to be need for Israel to defend itself
against those attacks. We've urged and cautioned restraint, and we
certainly urged and cautioned to all parties to exercise that restraint.
Ultimately, though, the best solution here is going to be when there is a
Palestinian state that can live side by side in peace and freedom with
Israel. That's what we're working on. We're going to continue to work on
it. It's not something that can be set aside just because circumstances
are difficult in the Middle East. If every time circumstances got
difficult in the Middle East, you'd set aside the course of trying to get
to a two-state solution, you'd never move forward."
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/may/85861.htm
[On Israel-Syria negotiations and the Israeli-Palestinian track] “Briefing
En Route Berlin, Germany, Secretary Condoleezza Rice”,
May 29, 2007
“…obviously there
ultimately has to be a comprehensive peace, but I think that everybody
agrees that the Israeli-Palestinian track is extremely important for a
number of reasons but also unlocks the key to the Arab -- the use of the
Arab initiatives and further engagement between the Arabs and the
Israelis…There's no substitute for trying to get to the place where the
Palestinians finally have their state and the Israelis finally have a
neighbor who can live in peace and security with them. It's at the core of
a lot of problems in the region. And I think that what we've seen over the
last few weeks with Hamas reinserting its violence course that it just
underscores the need for there to be a political framework, a political
horizon for those who want to pursue a two-state solution both on the
Palestinian side and on the Israeli side. It's not in the absence of the
need for security. It's not in the absence of the need for a cessation of
violence. And certainly, the work that General Dayton has been doing to
work on the benchmarks that we have talked about, have talked about during
the trip that I was out there last, can help contribute to both a more
peaceful Palestinian territory and one that's more economically viable as
you are able to move forward on some of the movement and access issues.
But I don't, frankly, see my role as negotiating a ceasefire between Hamas
and the Palestinian Authority. There ought to be a cessation of violence
because there ought to be a cessation of violence, and the Palestinians
themselves have been pursuing that course and some of the Arab states have
been helping them. But I just don't see any substitute for continuing to
work on the Palestinian-Israeli track. Let me just be very clear. No one
is opposed to Israel pursuing other tracks, including a Syria track. But
my understanding is that it's the view of the Israelis and certainly our
view that the Syrians are engaged in behavior right now that is
destabilizing to the region. But it's not a view that there shouldn't be
such a track. When it's ready, it should be…”
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/may/85702.htm
“Remarks by
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch”, Update
on the Israeli-Palestinian Situation and Palestinian Assistance Programs,
House Foreign Affairs Middle East and South Asia Sub-Committee, May 23,
2007
“…thank you
for giving me the opportunity to appear before you today to address our
strategic, diplomatic, and programmatic efforts with respect to the
Israeli Palestinian conflict, and in that context our assistance to the
Palestinian people and certain Palestinian institutions outside of the
control of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority Government..I would like to
focus on our diplomatic efforts and our strategy for moving the parties
closer to the President’s vision of two states, living side by side in
peace and security. It is within this framework that our assistance is
planned and administered. We see three tracks before us: a bilateral
Israeli-Palestinian track; a regional Arab-Israeli track; and an
international track led by the United States and the Quartet. Through
Secretary Rice’s personal commitment and regular diplomatic engagement we
have re-energized the bilateral track, preserving it despite the
challenges posed by the Mecca Agreement, the formation of a Palestinian
unity government, and the turbulent Israeli and Palestinian domestic
political environments. During the Secretary’s most recent trip to Israel
and the Palestinian territories in March, she obtained agreement by
President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert to meet regularly, and to expand
the substance of their meetings from an initial focus on practical issues
like security and movement and access, to include elements of the
political horizon for Palestinian statehood, such as economic relations
between Israel and a future Palestinian state, and the institutions of
governance for such a state…”
http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/wel052307.htm
See
Also: “Remarks by U.S. Security Coordinator
LTG Keith Dayton”
http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/day052307.htm
Background on Benchmark Plan:
“Acceleration Benchmarks for Agreement on Movement and Access as well as
on the Gaza Security Situation”
http://www.bitterlemons.org/docs/benchmarks_plan.pdf
“The US ‘benchmarks’ plan”,
Bitterlemons,
May 14, 2007 Edition 17
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"A farce?" - by Yossi
Alpher
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"New dates, old
commitments" - by Ghassan Khatib
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"Benchmarks to
nowhere" - by Alon Pinkas
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"No more security
plans" - an interview with Abu Obeidah
http://www.bitterlemons.org/previous.html
Quartet Meeting:
“Diplomatic Quartet calls on both sides to ‘work constructively’ towards
peace”, UN
News Centre, May 30, 2007
“The Middle East
diplomatic Quartet issued a wide-ranging statement today calling on Israel
and the Palestinians to work constructively to create an environment where
there can be progress towards Palestinian statehood that is consistent
with previous international agreements and resolutions. After holding a
high-level meeting in Berlin, the Quartet principals – including United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – also called for more direct talks
between the leaders of the two sides to try to find ways to address their
respective concerns. ‘Palestinians must know that their state will be
viable, and Israelis must know a future state of Palestine will be a
source of security, not a threat,’ according to the statement, which was
read out after the meeting by Mr. Ban. It added that the parties should
‘work positively and constructively in order to build confidence and to
create an environment conducive to progress on the political horizon for
Palestinian statehood, consistent with the Roadmap and relevant UN
Security Council resolutions, which should also be addressed in these
bilateral discussions.’… Today’s Quartet statement voiced deep concern
over recent intra-Palestinian factional violence in Gaza and called on the
Palestinian Authority to do everything it could to restore law and
order…Quartet members strongly condemned the firing of rockets into
southern Israel by Palestinian militants and the build-up of arms by Hamas
and other terrorist groups, and urged the immediate release of the
captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Equally, the statement called on
Israel to ‘exercise restraint to ensure that its security operations avoid
civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure’ and to release
the elected members of the Palestinian government and legislature it has
detained…”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22744&Cr=middle&Cr1=quartet
Full Statement:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/infocus/middle_east/quartet-30may2007.htm
Press
Conference:
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2007/may/85824.htm
3.
JERUSALEM REDUX: PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE OF THE HOLY CITY
The 40th anniversary of the 1967 war has prompted a new focus
on Jerusalem—the past events that have brought it to its current
unresolved status, the present reality on-the-ground and the possibilities
for a viable future. Following the war in 1967, Israel annexed East
Jerusalem and the city was reunified after being divided under Jordanian
and Israeli rule since 1948. During those 19 years, Israelis did not have
access to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Today, many
Palestinian Christians and Muslims face obstacles in reaching the holy
city. Finding an equitable solution for the sharing of Jerusalem by the
two peoples and the three faiths is an integral component to a two-state
solution to the conflict that includes a viable and contiguous Palestinian
state living in peace alongside a secure Israel. U.S. policy remains that
the status of Jerusalem is a “final status issue” to be determined through
negotiations. Below is a compilation of some of the key articles and
opinions on Jerusalem that have emerged in recent weeks.
Articles and Opinions:
“A Holy City Loses Faith: Forty years later, the myth of Jerusalem is
splintering”, Kevin Peraino, Newsweek, June 4, 2007 Issue
“…Four decades after the
battle, Israeli leaders still refer glowingly to Jerusalem as the
‘eternal, undivided capital’ of the Jewish state. But the mantra is
accurate only as myth. Even as they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
war this week, a growing number of Israeli voices are saying the once
unthinkable: that Jerusalem may never truly be united. The city is now
Israel's poorest metropolis; ambitious young people prefer making their
living in the country's high-tech corridor along the Mediterranean coast.
A vastly disparate standard of living divides Jerusalem's Arabs and Jews,
who only rarely mix. A concrete barrier cuts through the city, locking
more than 50,000 East Jerusalemites outside the wall. Not a single foreign
nation keeps its embassy there anymore. ‘The story of Jerusalem is a story
of decay and deterioration,’ says historian Tom Segev. ‘All these dreams
of 1967 were actually illusions.’…”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18881804/site/newsweek/page/0/
“Oh,
Jerusalem!”, Uzi Benziman,
Haaretz, May 17, 2007
“ ‘If we
conquer the Old City, when do we give it back and to whom?’ asked Zalman
Aran, then minister of education and culture. He posed the question during
the cabinet meeting on Monday, June 5, 1967, at about 8 P.M., in the bomb
shelter of the Knesset in Jerusalem. Interior minister Moshe Haim Shapira,
shared Aran's questions and expressed, like his colleague, concerns about
the diplomatic implications of the Israel Defense Forces' entry into the
Old City. They thought it would be best for Israel not to hold onto East
Jerusalem, but rather that it recommend that it have an international
status for it. They were alone in this opinion…”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=860027&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4
“Jerusalem demographics”,
Gershon Baskin, Blog Central at the Jerusalem Post, May 17, 2007
“Jerusalem is a divided
city. Since 1948 it has been a divided city and it will always remain a
divided city. The political leadership of Israel speaks of a consensus on
the future status of Jerusalem. This consensus, defined as the Israeli
policy, supposedly is as follows: All of Jerusalem is Israel's eternal,
undivided capital. All of Jerusalem must remain under Israeli sovereignty
forever. I maintain that this is not really the consensus of Israeli
opinion on Jerusalem but is in fact a rather narrow view of what should be
the future of this city… Jerusalem will never be a unified city unless it
can be shared. It will only be possible to share Jerusalem once the two
sides and their leaders cut down on the rhetoric that polarizes and,
instead, begin to help the public, on both sides, understand the true
character of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city of two peoples which both
claim national, historic and religious rights to it. Real sharing can only
be achieved by recognizing the political reality that has existed here
since 1967…”
http://blogcentral.jpost.com/view.php?blog_post_id=1098#anchor3
“Jerusalem: Center of Conflict or a Base for Convergence?”, Jihad Abu Zneid, Arab News, May 15, 2007
“One of the oldest and
most deep-rooted cities on earth: This is a statement one could use to
describe my beautiful city, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city I have carried
in the details of my face, the intonations of my voice and the sound of my
footsteps, ever since the day when I discovered the color of the sky,
uttered my first letters and found my way out of the house, through the
labyrinth of its charming alleys. Jerusalem makes me feel I am heir to a
great history. Jerusalem has been ravaged by warfare and conflict. Many
empires have battled for control of the city…”
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=96209&d=15&m=5&y=2007
“Jerusalem eternally united? The reality often falls short”, Dina Kraft, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), May 15, 2007
“The
group of Jerusalemites tumbles off the tour bus onto streets and hilltops
where most of them have never set foot. They are in eastern Jerusalem,
home to some 150,000 Arabs and, for most on the tour, an entirely new
world. They take in views of Israel's security barrier, here a hulking
concrete wall that divides neighborhoods, and walk the narrow cracked
roads lined with piles of uncollected trash. They marvel that this, too,
is Jerusalem…As Israel prepares to mark the 40th anniversary of the
Six-Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem -- constantly touted in
national slogans as ‘eternally united’ -- this group of students and
professionals came to see for themselves the Arab neighborhoods of the
city where Jews rarely venture. ‘I see regression, not progress,’ said
Michal, a psychologist who has lived in the Jerusalem area for 30 years
but had not been to the eastern part of the city for nearly as long.
‘Jerusalem never seemed united for me. The idea that it is is a fiction.’
She's not alone: A poll of Jerusalem residents by the Dahaf Institute
found that 62 percent do not consider the city united…The 40th anniversary
has brought new attention to the question of what Jerusalem's unity means
beyond political sloganeering and what might lie ahead for the city. New
statistics show that the city's Arab population is growing faster than its
Jewish one…”
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20070515jerusalemunited.html
Reports and Resources:
“Red Cross faults Israel on East Jerusalem”,
Steven Erlanger, International Herald Tribune, May 15, 2007
“The International
Committee of the Red Cross, in a confidential report about Israel's
annexation of East Jerusalem and surrounding areas, accuses Israel of a
‘general disregard’ for ‘its obligations under international humanitarian
law - and the law of occupation in particular.’ The committee says that
Israel is using its rights as an occupying power under international law
‘in order to further its own interests or those of its own population to
the detriment of the population of the occupied territory,’ which it says
is foreign to the letter and spirit of occupation law.’ Israeli policies
in East Jerusalem, the committee says, are ‘reshaping the development of
the Jerusalem metropolitan area’ with ‘far-reaching humanitarian
consequences,’ including the isolation of Palestinians living in Jerusalem
from the rest of the West Bank, problems of access to basic services and a
‘condition of artificial illegality’ in which thousands of Palestinians
live in Jerusalem without the ability to get permanent residency…”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/14/africa/jerus.php
“Special Jerusalem Bulletin: ‘Jerusalem Day’ Edition”, Ir Amim, May 15, 2007
“On
May 16th Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day -- marking the anniversary of the
reunification of Jerusalem. This year Jerusalem Day is being given special
significance, in that it marks the 40th anniversary of this reunification
-- 40 years since Israel gained control of east Jerusalem as a consequence
of the 1967 War. The ‘Jerusalem Day’ Edition includes:New Polling on attitudes
on Jerusalem, New Study on Jerusalem demographics, New Israeli government
plans to develop Jerusalem, International Community response.”
http://www.ir-amim.org.il/Eng/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/JBMay15-07.doc
4.
HUMANITARIAN FOCUS: WEST BANK AND GAZA
The economic and humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories has
received renewed attention, in a hearing in the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs on May 23rd on U.S. assistance to the Palestinians and
because of the present violence in and around Gaza. This spiraling
violence is evidence that instability in the Palestinian territories is
not in the best interest of Israel or the Palestinians. Below are a number
of resources related to the humanitarian situation in the West Bank and
Gaza as well as the status of funding restrictions and Palestinian reform
efforts and institutional performance.
“We
talked about the Middle East, and we’re concerned about the violence we
see in Gaza. We strongly urge the parties to work toward a two-state
solution.…“The Prime Minister and I discussed the humanitarian needs of
the Palestinian people. We recognized the deep humiliation that can come
as a result of living in a land where you can’t move freely, and where
people can’t realize dreams.”
–President George W. Bush, Press Availability with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, May 17, 2007
Statements, Articles and News:
“Statement of Mark S. Ward [on U.S. Assistance to the
Palestinians]”,
Senior Deputy
Assistant Administration for Asia and the Near East, U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), Before the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, May 23 2007
“…I will describe how our assistance program is serving USG
policy objectives and explain the vetting and anti-terrorist safeguards in
place, which protect against U.S. funds being diverted to
terrorist-controlled organizations. USAID’s strategy
in the West Bank and Gaza remains consistent with the President’s vision
of supporting the development of a future democratic Palestinian state
living side by side in peace and security with Israel. The majority of
Palestinian and Israeli people are committed to the two-state solution,
and it is in the United States’ interest to help them realize this
objective. We will not work with Hamas or any other foreign terrorist
organization, but we can and should continue to support moderate
institutions and elements of Palestinian society – the private sector,
moderate municipalities, independent institutions and those under
President Abbas’ control, civil society, and independent media – which
counterbalance and confront extremist views and positions. US assistance
remains focused on two key objectives - meeting the needs of the
Palestinian people and laying the foundation for the creation of a viable,
democratic, and prosperous Palestinian state…”
http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/110/war052307.htm;
Full info on hearing:
http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/testimony.asp?subnav=close
“Aid flows into Palestinian account after US shift”,
Adam Entous, Reuters, May 28, 2007
“With U.S. backing, donor
funds have started flowing into an account controlled by Palestinian
Finance Minister Salam Fayyad to pay partial government salaries,
Palestinian and Western officials said on Monday. Fayyad was expected to
receive enough money through the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)
account to pay government workers, including members of the security
forces, at least half of their normal monthly wages later this week. With
the Palestinian unity government paralysed by infighting, Israeli forces
arresting cabinet ministers and workers threatening an open-ended strike,
it is unclear what impact the payments will have and how long they will
continue….”
http://today.reuters.com/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L28330737
“Threading the needle [Report from Humanitarian Agencies, including
Catholic Relief Services and Lutheran World Relief]”,
Editorial Notebook, Ann LoLordo, Baltimore Sun, May 19, 2007
“As they traveled from
one Capitol Hill office to the next, Tom Garofalo and his colleagues from
Catholic Relief Services made their pitch: Humanitarian aid to
impoverished Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza must feed more than
hungry bodies. It must nourish minds and spirits if peace is the goal, and
classrooms would be a logical place to start. But at the mention of
schools, one congressional staffer stopped them: We can't do that; the
Palestinian government teaches hate. It's a reaction that relief workers
have faced as they try to do their jobs without running afoul of U.S.
policy that prohibits assistance to the Palestinian Authority. That's a
pretty tough needle to thread when you consider the deplorable living
conditions of Palestinians, the violence permeating their lives, the
deterioration of civil society, the absence of a functioning government
and the lack of a viable peace process….CRS has had to restrict its values
education programs to Palestinian students in Christian schools, who
represent a fraction of children in West Bank towns. ‘Our fundamental
belief is, you are not going to be able achieve a durable peace without
opportunities for people's development and stability, and simultaneously
you are not going to be able to develop the climate for development
without peace,’ Mr. McCully [vice president for international programs,
Lutheran World Relief] says… ‘Desperate people don't make social change,’
says Mr. Garofalo, CRS representative in Jerusalem. The U.S.-led boycott
may have accomplished one goal, crippling the Hamas government, but at the
cost of another - stamping out terrorism…”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.notebook19may19,0,2591758.story?coll=bal-opinion-headlines
Reports and Background Papers:
“Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank:
Uncertainty and Inefficiency in the Palestinian Economy”,
World Bank Technical Team, May 9, 2007
“Beginning in December 2004, when all parties (including the
Government of Israel (GOI) and the Palestinian Authority (PA)) agreed that
Palestinian economic revival was essential, that it required a major
dismantling of today’s closure regime and that closure needed to be
addressed from several perspectives at once, the World Bank has played a
leading role in providing balanced analysis and proposals which draw on
the Bank’s worldwide experience, but are realistic in the context of the
Israeli-Palestinian situation. This note looks, in particular, at the
situation within the West Bank which is experiencing severe and expanding
restrictions on movement and access, high levels of unpredictability and a
struggling economy…”
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WestBankrestrictions9Mayfinal.pdf
“Requiem for Palestinian Reform: Clear Lessons from a Troubled Record”,
Nathan Brown, Carnegie Endowment, Carnegie Paper No. 81,
February 2007
“Between 2002 and 2006
the Palestinian government made numerous strides towards democratic
reform, yet the outcome of the 2006 elections revealed a flawed foundation
behind the movement. International backers, such as the United States and
EU, viewed democratization as a means to weaken Arafat and promote a peace
settlement with Israel, yet unexpected results led these actors to harshly
turn against the Palestinian reform movement. What can this combination
of successful reform initiatives and disillusioned failure mean for future
democratic reform, not only in Palestine, but in the Middle East? What
lessons can be learned for future reform movements?...”
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=19031&prog=zgp&proj=zme
“A Year of Decline: The Financial and Institutional
Status of The Palestinian Authority”,
United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Special Focus Report,
April 2007
Key Finding: “The
transparency and accountability of the PA—built up over a decade at the
insistence and expense of the international donor community— has been
severely undermined by the withdrawal and withholding of funds.”
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/KN_SpecialFocus_OA3.pdf
See Also: “Aid to PA nearly tripled in '06, despite
international boycott”,
Amira Hass, Haaretz, May 16, 2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=860013
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