Palestinians, urgently in need of cash to fund presidential elections next January, have secured more than 500 million US dollar (2,75 milliarder DKR) in aid pledges and an international commitment to revive the stalled peace process at the annual conference of Mideast donor nations in Oslo, Palestinian officials said according to the World Bank press review Thursday.
Palestinian officials said they were pleased with the outcome of the meeting. Norway, which hosted the conference, has pledged 5 million US dollar for the Palestinian Authority, and US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns on Wednesday announced 20 million dollar in direct budget aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The United States will also provide 2,5 million dollar worth of technical assistance for Palestines Jan. 9 elections and another 1 million dollar to fund the presence of international observers. The United Nations, the World Bank, and other donor countries also made assistance promises at the gathering.
The Bush administration resumed direct aid to the Palestinian Authority Wednesday to pay its electricity bill to Israel. President George W. Bush signed a waiver to bypass congressional restrictions, allowing the 20 million US dollar to be paid to the Authority directly. This comes on top of about 200 million dollar already committed this year but paid through third parties, such as the United Nations.
The New York Times explains that William J. Burns, assistant US secretary of state for Middle East affairs, said the aid reflected American confidence in the Palestinian Authoritys efforts to reform its finances and security services in the weeks since the death of the Palestinian leader, Yassir Arafat.
– Palestinians deserve credit for their careful management of a difficult leadership transition, and their commitment to the electoral process,” Burns said, adding that Israel had also been “commendably clear” in making a commitment to facilitate elections to select Arafats successor as Palestinian president, set for Jan. 9.
The international aid is vital for the Palestinian economy, which has been ravaged by four years of fighting. Donor nations, led by the United States and European Union, provide roughly 1 billion US dollar (5,5 mia. DKR) a year in assistance, covering about 60 percent of the annual Palestinian budget.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry isaid that the donors had agreed on the need to provide additional funding to the Palestinians. It took aim at Israels “closure” policies, a system of roadblocks meant for security but which has strangled the Palestinian economy by blocking the movement of goods and people. It also said the Palestinians “need to combat terrorism and deepen its program of security and governance reforms.”
The recommendations follow a recent World Bank report on the state of the Palestinian economy. Nigel Roberts, the World Bank representative in the West Bank and Gaza, said there had been “a serious discussion of the policies that need to be put in place … for a revival of the Palestinian economy.”
Roberts said the meeting was not a “fund-raising meeting.” The Norwegian statement called for another meeting of donors in early 2005.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be seeking 400 million US dollar to reconstruct its security apparatus, Majde al-Khalidi, a senior PA Foreign Ministry official, told the Israeli daily. It wants 200 million of that total in 2005.
The PA is planning to recruit a 750-man special police force, which would be in charge of maintaining law and order. Britain has agreed to finance the training and equipping of that force, and has already paid for the main operation rooms in the Gaza Strip and Ramallah. Khalidi said Egypt and Jordan will train the force.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
