Palestinian welfare crucial for Israel
PA economic, social crises help generate terrorism
In the World Bank's previous forecast from the middle of May, it predicted a drop of some 30 percent in the income of Palestinians per capita, to an average USD 800 a year.
However gloomy this forecast may have been, it turned out to be overly optimistic. It predicted a mere 15 percent drop in international aid to the Palestinian Authority and reasonable operation of the crossings to and from Israel.
Situation worsens after abduction of IDF soldier
In practice, since the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit the reality throughout the territories, and particularly in Gaza, is a lot worse than predicted in any of the forecasts. The donor countries have almost completely halted funds and leading Arab banks have closed all the Palestinian government's accounts.
Israel, obviously, is not transferring a single shekel from the hundreds of millions of shekels in taxes the Treasury imposes on goods designated for the Palestinian Authority.
This has resulted in an annual income per capita of USD 700 in the Palestinian Authority (in Gaza it is USD 600, as opposed to USD 20,000 per capita in Israel and USD 2,000 in Egypt). Half the Palestinian workforce is unemployed, and the poverty, resulting from an income of USD two per capita per day – applies to 66 percent of the population.
Palestinian coffers empty
Last year, the Palestinian Authority used a monthly budget of USD 180-200 million; half of it was used to pay the salaries of 150,000 public sector workers. This budget has now dropped to only USD 25 million a month. The Palestinian Authority's coffers are empty, and its workers either don't turn up for work or are not getting paid.
This situation is particularly bad in "Gaza State." The Gaza Strip has no suitable business sector, there is no employment in Jewish settlements, there are no functioning infrastructures and there is no access to outside markets.
The crossings of Erez, Karni and Rafah are practically sealed, except for humanitarian aid trucks and arms smuggling. Gaza has become the poorest, most neglected and most demoralized area in the Arab Middle East.
No safe crossing
The economic slump has also accelerated in the West Bank this year as a result of the large number of checkpoints, the separation fence, and the turning of several roads into roads "for Jews only."
There are 550 permanent checkpoints throughout the West Bank and an additional 125 random checkpoints. There are 1,200 kilometers of roads that are completely or partially closed off to Palestinian traffic. Only 27 (out of 65) of the crossings in the separation fence serve the Palestinian population, resulting in long and humiliating lines.
Transfer of goods to Israel is still being carried out from hand to hand, and there's no point in discussing the "safe passage" between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
One could say that this is what Palestinian terror deserves. However, Israeli governments have always argued – and rightfully so – that the Palestinians' welfare is crucial for Israel's security, and that an economic and social crisis in the Palestinian Authority only helps generate terror, serving it and strengthening it.
Worlds apart
But words apart and deeds apart. Two hostile nations are currently residing side by side in Greater Israel. The Jewish one has almost complete control over its natural resources, infrastructure and land, while also enjoying a standard of living about 3,000 percent higher than its neighbor - the poor and occupied Palestinian nation.
This is a volatile situation, clearly unstable and morally intolerable, both politically and historically. It embodies the seeds of the next uprising, which will be far worse than the previous one, and it may pose a threat to Israel's political existence.
Israel has proven that it has a military response to Palestinian terror. Two million hungry Palestinians do not have and cannot have such a military solution. We have to engage in dialogue now.
