Overview
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is an
interim administrative body set up as a result of the
Oslo
Accords to assume the responsibilities of the Israeli military
administration in populated Palestinian centers (Area
A) in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip
until final status negotiations with
Israel are
concluded.[2][3]
The administrative responsibilities accorded to the PNA are limited to civil
matters and internal security and do not include external security or foreign
affairs.[3]
Palestinians in the
diaspora and
inside Israel do not vote in
elections
for the offices of the Palestinian National Authority.[4]
The PNA should not be confused with the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who continues to enjoy
international recognition as the sole legitimate representative of the
Palestinian people, representing them at the
United Nations under the name "Palestine".[5][6]
The PNA has received financial assistance from the
European Union and the
United States (approximately USD $1 bln. combined in 2005). All direct aid
was suspended on
7 April
2006 as a
result of the Hamas
victory in parliamentary elections.[7][8]
Shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the
offices of
Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.[9]
Conflict between Hamas and Fatah later in 2006 resulted in
Hamas taking
exclusive control over the administration of all PNA institutions in the Gaza
Strip. Since January 9, 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas' term as President was supposed
to have ended and elections were to have been called, Hamas supporters and many
in the Gaza Strip have withdrawn recognition for his Presidency and instead
consider
Aziz Dweik, who served as the speaker of the house in the
Palestinian Legislative Council, to be the acting President until new
elections can be held.[10][11]
No Western financial assistance is given to the PNA authorities in Gaza and
Western governments do not recognize anyone but Abbas to be the President.
The
Gaza International AirportRafah, but
operated for only a brief period before being razed by Israel following the
outbreak of
Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000. A sea
port was also being
constructed in Gaza but was never completed (see below).
The creation of a Palestinian police force was called for under the Oslo
Accords.[3]
The first
Palestinian police force of 9,000 was deployed in
Jericho in
1994, and later in Gaza.[3]
These forces initially struggled to control security in the areas in which it
had partial control which was used an excuse by Israel to delay expansion of the
area to be administered by the PNA.[3]
By 1996, the PNA security forces were estimated to include anywhere from 40,000
to 80,000 recruits.[12]
employing some armored cars, and a limited number carry automatic weapons.[13]
Many Palestinians opposed to or critical of the peace process perceive the
Palestinian security forces to be little more than a proxy of the State of
Israel.[3]
Many Palestinians are dependent on access to the Israeli job market. During
the 1990s, Israel began to replace Palestinians with foreign workers. The
process was found to be economical and also addressed security concerns. This
hurt the Palestinian economy, in particular in the Gaza strip, where 45.7% of
the population is under the poverty line according to the
CIA World Factbook, but it also affected the West Bank.
History
For the history of the territories currently controlled by the PNA prior
to its establishment, see
History of Palestine and
History of the Palestinian territories.
The
Oslo Accords were signed on
13
September 1993
between the
Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. The Palestinian Authority was
formally created by the
Palestine Central Council, itself acting on behalf of the
Palestine National Council of the
Palestine Liberation Organization, and was made accountable to the
PLO Executive Committee in a meeting convened in Tunis from 10-11 October
1993.[14]
This was an interim organization created to administer a limited formj of
Palestinian self-governance in the Palestinian territories for a period of five
years during which final-status negotiations would take place.[citation
needed] General elections were held for its first legislative
body, the
Palestinian Legislative Council, on 20 January 1996.[14]
The expiration of the body's term was 4 May 1999, but elections were not held
because of the "the prevailing coercive situation".[14]
Since the beginning of the
Second Intifada, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been undermined both in
the
Palestinian occupied territories (Gaza
strip and
West Bank) and abroad.
Ariel
Sharon and the
George W. Bush administration refused to negotiate with
Yasser Arafat, leader of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and former president of the PA, whom
they asserted formed "part of the problem" (concerning the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict) and not of its solution[citation
needed] — this despite Arafat's signature of the 1993
Oslo
Accords. In January 2006,
Hamas won the
legislative elections, and thus replaced Arafat's
Fatah as leading
party of the
Palestinian people.
Israel has accused the Palestinian Authority of ignoring and covertly
sponsoring the violence against Israelis. This view has been officially accepted
by the United States in summer 2002, which decided then to halt most sorts of
negotiations with the current Palestinian authority, pending a fundamental
organizational change. The US
Council on Foreign Relations
think tank
has declared the Palestinian Authority under Arafat a haven for terrorism.[citation
needed]
During the Intifada, Israel has often targeted Palestinian Authority
personnel and resources. In particular, many of the people arrested,
assassinated or killed in action because of their alleged terrorist activities,
were employees of the Palestinian Authority's security forces or militias. In
Operation Defensive Shield Israel has captured documents that allegedly
prove that the Palestinian Authority officially sponsors "terrorist activities",
which are carried out by its personnel as "shadow jobs". For instance, Israel
arrested and convicted
Marwan Barghouti, a prominent leader of Fatah, for his role as leader of the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Barghouti maintains his innocence, and rejects
the impartiality of the Israeli courts.
Israel has also targeted Palestinian Authority infrastructure; in particular
it has closed parts of the Palestinian sea and air ports, which Israel alleges
have been used to transport terrorists and their equipment. Israel's incursions
during the Intifada also led to damage to some of the Palestinian computer
infrastructure, though it was not deliberate.
These moves were criticized by the Palestinians, who claim that the
Palestinian Authority is nearing collapse, and is no longer able to carry out
its internal and external obligations. This is because these repeated
degradations of PA resources and infrastructure have led to complaints by the PA
and some of its
European Union funders that Israel is deliberately hobbling the PA to
restrict its powers of law enforcement in order to present an image of terrorism
and lawlessness in the Palestinian Territories. On
7 July
2004, the
Quartet of
Middle
East mediators informed
Ahmed
Qurei,
Prime Minister of the PA from 2003 to 2006, that they were "sick and tired"
of the Palestinians failure to carry out promised reforms: "If security reforms
are not done, there will be no (more) international support and no funding from
the international community"[15]
On
18 July
2004,
United States
President
George W. Bush stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the
end of 2005 was unlikely due to instability and violence in the Palestinian
Authority.[16]
- In order for there to be a Palestinian state, it is essential for its
leaders to be open to reform and be dedicated to their people.
- The problem of the Palestinians is a territorial one – they have no
state and they have no leaders. Palestinians that want change need to demand
that a security force be established. The real problem is that there is no
leadership that is able to say 'help us establish a state and we will fight
terror and answer the needs of the Palestinians'.
Following Arafat's death on
11
November 2004,
Rawhi Fattuh, leader of the
Palestinian Legislative Council became
Acting President of the Palestinian Authority as provided for in Article
54(2) of the Authority's Basic Law.[17]
- If the office of the President of the National Authority becomes
vacant due to any of the above cases, the Speaker of the Palestinian
Legislative Council shall assume the powers and duties of the Presidency of
the National Authority, temporarily for a period not exceeding (60) sixty
days, during which free and direct elections to choose a new president shall
take place in accordance with the Palestinian Elections Law.
On
19 April
2005,
Vladimir Putin the president of
Russia agreed
to aid the Palestinian Authority stating, "We support the efforts of President
Abbas to reform the security services and fight against terrorism [...] If we
are waiting for President Abbas to fight terrorism, he cannot do it with the
resources he has now. [...] We will give the Palestinian Authority technical
help by sending equipment, training people. We will give the Palestinian
Authority helicopters and also communication equipment."[18]
The Palestinian Authority became responsible for civil administration in some
rural areas, as well as security in the major cities of the
West Bank
and the
Gaza Strip. Although the five-year interim period expired in 1999, the final
status agreement has yet to be concluded despite attempts such as the
Camp David 2000 Summit, the
Taba summit, and the unofficial
Geneva Accords.
In August 2005,
Israeli Prime minister
Ariel
Sharon began his
unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza strip, ceding full effective
internal control of the Strip to the Palestinian Authority but retained control
of its borders including air and sea (except for the Egyptian border).. This
increased the percentage of land in the Gaza strip nominally governed by the PNA
from 60 percent to 100 percent.
Palestinian legislative elections took place on
25 January
2006.
Hamas was
victorious and
Ismail Haniyeh was nominated as Prime Minister on
16
February 2006
and sworn in on
29 March
2006.
However, when a Hamas-led government was formed,
Israel, the
United States,
Canada, and the European Union froze all funds to the Palestinian Authority,
after Hamas refused to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence, and
agree to past agreements. These countries view Hamas as a
terrorist organization.
In December 2006,
Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the PA, declared that the PA will never
recognize Israel: "We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and
will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem."[19]
In an attempt to resolve the financial and diplomatic impasse, the Hamas-led
government together with Fatah Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas agreed to form a
unity government. Haniyeh resigned on
15
February 2007
as part of the agreement. The unity government was finally formed on
18 March
2007 under
Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh and consisted of members from Hamas, Fatah and other parties
and independents.
After the
takeover in Gaza by Hamas on
14 June
2007,
Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas dismissed the government and on
15 June
2007
appointed
Salam Fayad
Prime Minister to form a new government. Though the new government's
authority is claimed to extend to all Palestinian territories, in effect it is
limited to the Palestinian Authority controlled areas of the
West Bank.
The Fayad government has won widespread international support.
Egypt,
Jordan, and
Saudi
Arabia said in late June 2007 that the West Bank-based Cabinet formed by
Fayad was the sole legitimate Palestinian government, and Egypt moved its
embassy from Gaza to the West Bank.[20]
Hamas, which has effective control of the Gaza Strip, faces international
diplomatic and economic isolation.
A six-month
truce between Hamas and Israel ended on 19 December 2008.[21][22][23]
Hamas claimed that Israel broke the truce on 4 November 2008,[24][25]
and that Israel had failed to lift the
Gaza Strip blockade, and Israel blamed Hamas for the
rocket fire directed at southern Israeli towns and cities.[26]
The
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict began on 27 December 2008 (11:30
a.m. local time; 9:30 a.m.
UTC)[27]
when the
Israel Defense Forces launched a military campaign codenamed Operation Cast
Lead (Hebrew:
מבצע עופרת יצוקה, Mivtza
Oferet Yetzuka) in response to rocket fire from the area, targeting the
members and infrastructure of
Gaza's governing party, Hamas.
Politics
and internal structure
The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was created by, is ultimately
accountable to,[14]
and has historically been associated with the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with whom
Israel
negotiated the
Oslo
Accords. The Chairman of the PLO,
Yasser Arafat, was elected as President of PNA in a
landslide victory in 1996. Subsequent elections were postponed, ostensibly
due to the eruption of the
Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Israeli military clampdown that accompanied it.
However, internal Palestinian strife was also a reason for the disorganization
in government. After Arafat's death in 2004, new elections occurred on both
presidential and local levels. Although almost 80% of the employees of the PA
were local Palestinians, higher posts were occupied mostly by PLO officials who
returned from exile once the PNA was established in 1994. To many local
Palestinians, these "returnees" were a source of bureaucracy and corruption.[citation
needed]
Arafat's administration was criticized for its lack of democracy, widespread
corruption among officials, and the division of power among families and
numerous governmental agencies with overlapping functions. He established over
ten distinct security organizations through various mechanisms in an alleged
divide et impera scheme, which is claimed to have guaranteed an
atmosphere of power-struggle in the Authority which enabled him to preserve
overall control. Both Israel and the US declared they lost trust in Arafat as a
partner and refused to negotiate with him, regarding him as linked to terrorism.
Arafat denied this, and was visited by other leaders around the world up until
his death. However, this began a push for change in the Palestinian leadership.
In 2003, Arafat succumbed to domestic and international pressure and appointed
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as prime minister of the PNA. Abbas resigned four
months later because of lack of support from Israel, the US, and Arafat himself.
He was later chosen as his
Fatah party's
candidate for president of the PA in 2004 after the death of Arafat. He won the
presidency on
January 99,
2005 with
62% of the vote.
According to the Palestinian "Basic Law" which was signed by Arafat in 2002
after a long delay, the current structure of the PA is based on three separate
branches of power:[28]
Ahmed Qureia formed his government on
February
244, 2005
to wide international praise because, for the first time, most ministries were
headed by experts in their field as opposed to political appointees.[29]
The
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is an elected body of 132
representatives and acts as a parliament. The PLC must approve all government
cabinet positions proposed by the prime minister, and must also confirm the
prime minister himself upon nomination by the president. As opposed to other
Arab countries, the PLC has historically demonstrated considerable power, and
has frequently caused changes in government appointments through threats of
no-confidence votes. Many critical votes are won in the government's favor
without an outright majority. Since the death of Arafat, the PLC has
reinvigorated its activity, and commonly summons senior executive officials to
testify before it. Parliamentary elections were conducted in January 2006 after
the recent passage of an overhauled election law that increased the number of
seats from 88 to 132.
Political
parties and elections
From the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 until the death
of
Yasser Arafat in late 2004, only one election had taken place. All other
elections were deferred for various reasons.
A single
election for president and the legislature took place in 1996. The next
presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for 2001, but were delayed
following the outbreak of the
Al-Aqsa Intifada. Following Arafat's death,
elections for the President of the Authority were announced for
January 9,
2005. The
PLO leader
Mahmoud Abbas won 62.3% of the vote, while Dr.
Mustafa Barghouti, a physician and independent candidate, won 19.8%.[30]
On
May 10,
2004 the
Palestinian Cabinet announced that municipal elections would take place for the
first time. Elections were announced for August 2004 in
Jericho,
followed by certain municipalities in the
Gaza Strip.
In July 2004 these elections were postponed. Issues with voter registration are
said to have contributed to the delay. Municipal elections finally took place
for council officials in
Jericho and
25 other towns and villages in the
West Bank
on
December
23, 2004.
On
January 27,
2005, the
first round of the
municipal elections took place in the
Gaza Strip
for officials in 10 local councils. Further rounds in the West Bank took place
in May 2005.
Elections for a new
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) were scheduled for July 2005 by Acting
Palestinian Authority President
Rawhi Fattuh in January 2005. These elections were postponed by
Mahmoud Abbas after major changes to the Election Law were enacted by the
PLC which required more time for the
Palestinian Central Elections Committee to process and prepare. Among these
changes were the expansion of the number of
parliament
seats from 88 to 132, with half of the seats to be competed for in 16
localities, and the other half to be elected in proportion to party votes from a
nationwide pool of candidates.
Law
Violence
against civilians
The
Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group reports "everyday disagreements
and clashes between the various political factions, families and cities that a
complete picture of Palestinian society is painted. These divisions have during
the course of the al Aqsa Intifada also led to an increasingly violent
‘Intrafada’. In the 10 year period from 1993 to 2003, 16% of Palestinian
civilian deaths were caused by Palestinian groups or individuals."[33]
Erika Waak reports in
The Humanist "Of the total number of Palestinian civilians killed
during this period by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces, 16 percent
were the victims of Palestinian security forces." Accusations of
collaboration with Israel are used to target and kill individual Palestinians: "Those
who are convicted have either been caught helping Israelis, spoken out against
Arafat, or are involved in rival criminal gangs, and these individuals are
hanged after summary trials. Arafat creates an environment where the violence
continues while silencing would-be critics, and although he could make the
violence impossible, he doesn't stop it."
Freedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties,
Freedom in the World 2001-2002, reports "Civil liberties declined due to:
shooting deaths of Palestinian civilians by Palestinian security personnel; the
summary trial and executions of alleged collaborators by the Palestinian
Authority (PA); extrajudicial killings of suspected collaborators by militias;
and the apparent official encouragement of Palestinian youth to confront Israeli
soldiers, thus placing them directly in harm's way."[34]
Palestinian security forces have, as of March 2005, not made any arrests for
the October 2003 killing of three American members of a diplomatic convoy in the
Gaza Strip.
Moussa Arafat, head of the Palestinian Military Intelligence and a cousin of
then Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat has stated that, regarding the United States pressure to
arrest the killers; "They know that we are in a very critical position and that
clashing with any Palestinian party under the presence of the occupation is an
issue that will present many problems for us". Since the October 2003 attack,
United States diplomats have been banned from entering the Gaza Strip.[35]
It is claimed that some of the
smuggling tunnels connecting
Egypt and the
Gaza Strip
are controlled by one of the Palestinian Authority security services under
Moussa Arafat's command. He is accused of receiving a portion of the profits
derived from the smuggling tunnels.[36]
During 2007 many Western and Christian targets were attacked in the West Bank
and Gaza. Members of local gangs and terror cells blew up and destroyed
institutions linked to Western culture such as American schools, church
libraries and dozens of Internet cafes. These events were largely ignored by the
media.[37]
Violence
against officials
On
October 15,
2003, three
members of a
United States diplomatic convoy were killed and additional members of the
convoy wounded three kilometers south of the Erez Crossing into the Gaza Strip
by a
terrorist bomb. The perpetrators remain at large.
In February 2004
Ghassan Shaqawa (the mayor of
Nablus) filed
his resignation from office in protest of the
Palestinian Authority's lack of action against the armed militias rampaging
the city and the multiple attempts by some Palestinians to assassinate him.
Gaza's police chief, General Saib al-Ajez, later would say: "This internal
conflict between police and the militants cannot happen. It is forbidden. We are
a single nation and many people know each other and it is not easy to kill
someone who is bearing a weapon to defend his nation."[38]
Through the first three months of 2004, a number of attacks on journalists in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been blamed on the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, most clearly the attack on the Arab television
station
Al-Arabiya's West Bank offices by masked men self-identifying as members of
the Brigades. Palestinian journalists in Gaza called a general strike on
February 9
to protest this rising violence against journalists.
Karen Abu Zayd, deputy commissioner general for the
UN Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip stated on
February
29, 2004:
"What has begun to be more visible is the beginning of the breakdown of law and
order, all the groups have their own militias, and they are very organized. It's
factions trying to exercise their powers."[39]
Ghazi al-Jabali, the
Gaza Strip
Chief of Police, since 1994 has been the target of repeated attacks by
Palestinians. In March 2004, his offices were targeted by gunfire. In April
2004, a bomb was detonated destroying the front of his house. In
July 17,
2004, he was
kidnapped at the at gunpoint following an
ambush of his
convoy and wounding
of two bodyguards. He was released several hours later.[40]
Less than six hours later, Colonel Khaled Abu Aloula, director of military
coordination in the southern part of Gaza was abducted.
On
July 17
eve, Fatah movement members kidnapped 5
French citizens
(3 men and 2 women) and held hostage in
Red Crescent Society building in
Khan Yunis:
- Palestinian security officials said that the kidnapping was carried out
by the Abu al-Rish Brigades, accused of being linked to
Palestinian Authority Chairman
Yasser Arafat's
Fatah
faction.[41]
On
July 18,
Arafat replaced
Ghazi al-Jabali, with his nephew
Moussa Arafat, sparking violent riots in
Rafah and
Khan Yunis
in which members of the
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades burned PA offices and opened fire on Palestinian
policemen. During the riots at least one Palestinian was killed and dozen more
seriously wounded.
On
July 20,
2004 David
Satterfield, the second-in-charge at the United States Department of State Near
East desk stated in hearing before the Senate that the Palestinian Authority has
failed to arrest the
Palestinian terrorists who
murdered three
members of an American
diplomatic
convoy
traveling in the
Gaza Strip
on
October 15,
2003.
Satterfield states:
- There has been no satisfactory resolution of this case. We can only
conclude that there has been a political decision taken by the chairman (Yasser
Arafat) to block further progress in this investigation.
On
July 21,
Nabil Amar, former Minister of Information and a cabinet member and a member
of the
Palestinian Legislative Council, was shot by masked gunmen, after an
interview to a TV channel in which he criticized
Yasser Arafat and called for reforms in the PA.[42]
Regarding the descent into chaos Cabinet minister
Qadura
Fares stated on
July 21,
2004:
- Every one of us is responsible.
Arafat is the most responsible for the failure. President Arafat failed
and the Palestinian government failed, the Palestinian political factions
failed.[43]
On
July 22,
2004, The
United Nations elevated its threat warning level for the
Gaza Strip
to "Phase Four" (one less than the maximum "Phase Five") and plans to evacuate
non-essential foreign staff from the Gaza Strip.[44]
The firing of
Qassam rockets from the
Gaza Strip
into Israel is
strongly opposed by those living closest to the firing location due to frequent
Israeli military responses to Qassam rocket launches. On
July 23,
2004, an
Arab boy was shot and killed by
Palestinian terrorists of the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades after he and his family physically opposed their
attempt to set up a Qassam rocket launcher outside the family's house. Five
other individuals were wounded in the incident.[45][46][47][48]
On
July 25,
2004, 20
members of the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades seized the governor's office in the
Gaza Strip
town of Khan Yunis. Among their demands are that
Yasser Arafat's cousin, Moussa Arafat be dismissed from his post as chief of
general security in Gaza. In a separate attack, unidentified persons stormed a
police station and burned the structure causing extensive damage.
On
July 31,
Palestinian kidnappers in
Nablus seized 3
foreign nationals, an
American,
British and
Irish citizen. They were later released. Also, a PA security forces HQ
building was burnt down in
Jenin by the
al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. A leader of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said they
torched the building because new mayor Qadorrah Moussa, appointed by Arafat, had
refused to pay salaries to Al Aqsa members or to cooperate with the group.[49]
On
August 8,
2004 the
Justice Minister Nahed Arreyes resigned stating that he has been stripped of
much of his authority over the legal system. The year before,
Yasser Arafat created a rival agency to the Justice Ministry and was accused
of continuing to control the judiciary and in particular the state prosecutors.[50]
On
August 10,
2004, a
report by an investigation committee
Palestinian Legislative Council for the reasons for the anarchy and chaos in
the PA was
published by
Haaretz daily newspaper. The report puts the main blame on
Yasser Arafat and the PA's security forces, which "have failed to make a
clear political decision to end it". The report states,
- "The main reason for the failure of the Palestinian security forces and
their lack of action in restoring law and order" ...
- "is the total lack of a clear political decision and no definition of
their roles, either for the long term or the short."
The report also calls to stop shooting
Qassam rockets and mortar shells on Israeli settlements because of it hurts
"Palestinian interests". Hakham Balawi said:
- "... It is prohibited to launch rockets and to fire weapons from houses,
and that is a supreme Palestinian interest that should not be violated
because the result is barbaric retaliation by the occupying army and the
citizenry cannot accept such shooting. Those who do it are a certain group
that does not represent the people and nation, doing it without thinking
about the general interest and public opinion in the world and in Israel.
There is no vision or purpose to the missiles; the Palestinian interest is
more important"[51]
Despite the criticism against
Yasser Arafat, the troubles continued. On
August 24,
the Lieutenant Commander of the Palestinian General Intelligence in the
Gaza Strip,
Tareq Abu-Rajab, was shot by group of armed men. He was seriously injured.[52]
On
August 31,
the Jenin Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of
the Popular Resistance Committees, threaten to kill Minister
Nabil
Shaath for participating in a conference in
Italy attended by
Israeli Foreign
Minister Silvan Shalom, declaring "He will be sentenced to death if he enters.
The decision cannot be rescinded, we call upon his bodyguards to abandon his
convoy in order to save their lives."[53]
On
September
8, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, threatens to resign, again. Three
weeks have elapsed since he retracted is resignation, originally tendered six
weeks ago.[54]
On
October 12,
Moussa Arafat, cousin of
Yasser Arafat and a top security official in the
Gaza Strip,
survived a car
bomb assassination attempt. Recently the
Popular Resistance Committees threatened Moussa Arafat with retaliation for
an alleged attempt to assassinate its leader, Mohammed Nashabat.[55]
On
October 14,
Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmed
Qurei stated that the Palestinian Authority is unable to stop the spreading
anarchy. While routinely blaming Israel for the PA's problems, he pointed out
that the many PA security forces are hobbled by corruption and factional
feuding. Due to the lack of governmentals reforms demanded by international
peace mediators, Palestinian legislators demanded Qurei present a report on the
matter by October 20, at which point they will decide upon holding a
no-confidence vote.[56]
On
October 19,
a group of
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members, led by
Zakaria Zubeidi, seized buildings belonging to the Palestinan Finance
ministry and Palestinian parliament in
Jenin.[57]
Current
Palestinian measures to keep law and order
In 2006, after the
Hamas victory, the Palestinian interior minister formed an Executive Force
for the police. However, the PA president objected and after clashes between
Hamas and Fatah, a redeployment of the force was made and efforts started in
order to integrate it with the police force.
Administrative
divisions
After the signing of the
Oslo
Accords, the
West bank and the
Gaza Strip
were divided into areas (A,
B, and C) and
governorates. Area A refers to the area under
PNA security and civilian control. Area B refers to the area under
Palestinian civilian and
Israeli
security control. Area C refers to the area under full Israeli control such as
settlements.
Since the
Battle of Gaza (2007) most of the Gaza Strip is in control of the
Hamas with the
PA stating it is officially no longer in control of the Gaza Strip.[32]
Map showing governorates and areas of formal Palestinian control
(Areas A and B in deep green)
The PNA divides the Palestinian territories into
16 governorates
Economy
Following the 2006 legislative elections, won by
Hamas, Israel has
ceased transferring the $55 million tax-receipts to the PA; since the PA has no
access point (ports, airports, etc.) to receive taxes, it is Israel that is
charged with this duty. These funds accounted for a third of the PA's budget,
two thirds of its proper budget, and ensure the wages of 160 000 Palestinian
civil servants (among them 60 000 security and police officers), on which a
third of the Palestinian population is dependent.[citation
needed] Israel has also decided to increase controls on
check-point, which has been since the beginning of the
Second Intifada a main cause of the 2001-2002 economic recession, which the
World Bank
has compared to the
1929 economic crisis. Furthermore, the US and the EU have stopped direct aid
to the PA, while the US imposed a financial blockade on PA's banks, impeding
some of the
Arab
League's funds (e.g.
Saudi
Arabia and Qatar)
from being transferred to the PA.[58]
On May 6 and 7, 2006, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza and the West
Bank demanding payment of their wages. Tension between Hamas and
Fatah has been
slowly risen with the "economic squeeze" on the PA.[59]
The
UN institution underlines that
unemployment, which was estimated to 23% in 2005, would increase to 39% in
2006, while
poverty, estimated at 44%, would increase to 67% in 2006.[58]
Foreign
aid and budget deficit
Due to conditions in the
territory it administers, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has received
unprecedented financial support from the international community. According to
the World
Bank, USD $929 million were given by the international community to the PNA
in 2001, $891 million in 2003 and $1.1 billion in 2005 (representing 53% of the
budget in
2005). The main objectives are support to the budget,
development aid and
public health. In 2003, the US funded $224 million, the EU $187 million, the
Arab
League $124 million,
Norway $53
million, the World Bank $50 million, the
United Kingdom $43 million,
Italy $40
million, and the last $170 million by others.[citation
needed] According to the World Bank, the
budget deficit was about of $800 million in 2005, with nearly half of it
financed by donors. "The PA's fiscal situation has become increasingly
unsustainable mainly as a result of uncontrolled government consumption, in
particular a rapidly increasing public sector wage bill, expanding social
transfer schemes and rising net lending," said the World Bank report. Government
corruption is widely seen as the cause of much of the PA financial difficulties.[citation
needed]
Economic
sanctions following January 2006 legislative elections
Following the
January 2006 legislative elections, won by
Hamas, the
Quartet threatened to cut funds to the Palestinian Authority. On
February 2,
2006,
according to the
AFP, the PNA accused Israel of "practicing collective punishment after it
snubbed US calls to unblock funds owed to the Palestinians." Prime minister
Ahmed Qorei "said he was hopeful of finding alternative funding to meet the
budget shortfall of around 50 million dollars, needed to pay the wages of public
sector workers, and which should have been handed over by Israel on the first of
the month." The US Department criticized Israel for refusing to quickly unblock
the funds. The funds were later unblocked.[60]
However, the New York Times alleged on
February
14, 2006
that a "destabilization plan" of the United States and Israel, aimed against
Hamas, winner of
the January 2006 legislative elections, centered "largely on money" and cutting
all funds to the PA once Hamas takes power, in order to delegitimize it in the
eyes of the Palestinians. According to the news article, "The Palestinian
Authority has a monthly cash deficit of some $60 million to $70 million after it
receives between $50 million and $55 million a month from Israel in taxes and
customs duties collected by Israeli officials at the borders but owed to the
Palestinians." Beginning March 2006, "the Palestinian Authority will face a cash
deficit of at least $110 million a month, or more than $1 billion a year, which
it needs to pay full salaries to its 140,000 employees, who are the breadwinners
for at least one-third of the Palestinian population. The employment figure
includes some 58,000 members of the security forces, most of which are
affiliated with the defeated
Fatah movement."
Since
January 25
elections, "the Palestinian stock market has already fallen about 20 percent",
while the "Authority has exhausted its borrowing capacity with local banks."[61]
Use
of European Union assistance
In February 2004, it was reported that the
European Union (EU) anti-fraud office (OLAF)
was studying documents suggesting that
Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority had diverted tens of millions of
dollars in EU funds to organizations involved in terrorist attacks, such as the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. However, in August 2004, a provisional assessment
stated that "To date, there is no evidence that funds from the non-targeted EU
Direct Budget Assistance to the Palestinian Authority have been used to finance
illegal activities, including terrorism."[62]
A separate EU "Working Group" also issued a report in April 2004, adopted by
a 7-6 vote, which covers the period from the end of 2000 to the end of 2002,
stating that EU aid has not been siphoned off to Palestinian militants carrying
out attacks on Israelis: "There is no conclusive evidence, to date, that the EU
non-targeted direct budgetary support was used to finance illegal activities,
including the financing of terrorism".
Furthermore, the EU has changed the way it funded the Palestinians and now
uses targeted aid for specific purposes. From April 2003, money is only handed
over if various conditions are met, such as the presentation of invoices for
bills the Palestinians need to pay. The EU remains the biggest donor to the
Palestinian Authority.
Payments
to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons
On
July 22,
2004, Salam
Fayyad, PNA Minister of Finance, in an article in the Palestinian weekly, The
Jerusalem Times, detailed the following payments to Palestinians imprisoned
by the Israeli
authorities:[63]
- Prisoner allowances increased between June 2002 and June 2004 to $9.6m
monthly, an increase of 246 percent compared with January 1995-June 2002.
- Between June 2002 and June 2004, 77 million shekels were delivered to
prisoners, compared to 121 million between January 1995 and June 2002, which
is an increase of 16 million shekels yearly. The increase of annual spending
between the two periods registers 450 percent, which is much higher than the
percentage of increase of the number of prisoners.
- Between 2002 and 2004, the PNA paid 22 million shekels to cover other
expenses — lawyers’ fees, fines, and allocations for released prisoners.
This includes lawyers’ fees paid directly by the PNA and fees paid through
the Prisoners Club.
Sudan
