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Thousands of Palestinians suffer appalling conditions at Israeli checkpoints
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By
Adam Wild Aba, IOL Correspondent
WASHINGTON,
December 2 (IslamOnline.net) - The World Bank (WB) called on Israel
Thursday, November 2, to lift closures clamped on Palestinian cities
and villages in order to help vitaminize the sluggish Palestinian
economy.
“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,” the
world body said.
Under
Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon’s unilateral plan, Israeli forces are
to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and some areas in the West Bank.
In
a report titled “Stagnation or Revival? Israeli Disengagement and
Palestinian Economic Prospects”, the WB pressed the Israeli
government to lift restrictions on the movement of people and goods
imposed since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
“Too
often in the course of this conflict, economic considerations have
been dealt with as a residual element in diplomacy,” said Nigel
Roberts, World Bank Country Director for West Bank and Gaza.
“Given
the depth of the economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza, securing
work and a future for one’s family features very high on the agenda
of the ordinary Palestinian, and need to be catered to as top
priority.”
A
previous report released by the World Bank late November said that
since the start of the Intifada, the Palestinian economy continues to
be mired in deep recession.
It
further revealed that although the Palestinian economy recovered in
2003, this upturn is short-lived.
In
June, Palestinian businessmen accused Israel of attempting to paralyze
the already- shattered Palestinian economy by closing the main
commercial crossing into Gaza Strip.
Beatings,
shootings, harassment, humiliation in front of children and wives and
life-threatening delays are but a few examples of the appalling
conditions Palestinians suffer at Israeli checkpoints, The
Washington Post said on Monday, November 29.
Reform-committed
The
report urged the Palestinian Authority to stress a stronger commitment
to reform and renew legitimacy through holding parliamentary
elections.
It
also press the PA to reinvigorate its program of internal governance
and economic reforms in order to create a legal and regulatory
framework that can attract investors.
Interim
Palestinian president Rawhi Fatouh had declared holding the presidential
elections on January 9.
The
World Bank’s report is expected to be discussed during a meeting of
the international donors on the West Bank and Gaza, known as the Ad
Hoc Liaison Committee, in the Norwegian capital Oslo on December 8.
It
recommended that the donor community assess progress over the coming
few months in order to help judge if the preconditions for a major
additional aid effort are in place.
The
report further added that if and when a significant progress is made,
it would make sense to convene a donor pledging conference, stressing
that calling such a conference in the absence of adequate progress
would be counterproductive.
According
to 2002 UN statistics, unemployment increased to 50% in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, and that 70% of Gaza Strip inhabitants now live in
poverty, defined as per capita consumption of less than $2 a day. The
poverty rate was 23% in 1997, and 20% in 1990.
In
September the same year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) annual report on the occupied territories said
that the Palestinian economy was experiencing
"de-development".
The
participants highlighted that the Palestinian economy is regularly
disrupted by roadblocks, curfews, bulldozing of homes and farms,
destruction of wells and confiscation of land to build new Jewish
settlements, in violation of international law.
The
Palestinian Authority's olive
output , one of its most important agricultural products, was
reduced by more than 80% in 2001, due to Israeli military actions
against both people and groves.
