UN seeks USD 450 million in aid for Palestinians
Funds earmarked for job creation, cash assistance and food aid; organization criticizes restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians; ‘while humanitarian aid can slow the deterioration, what is really needed is a political settlement to the issue,’ senior UN official says
The United Nations launched Thursday a campaign to raise USD 450 million in aid to the Palestinians in 2007. According to the organization, the fundraising campaign is the largest ever in the Palestinian Authority and the third largest in the world.
UN officials told a Jerusalem press conference that about three-quarters of the money being requested is earmarked for job creation, cash assistance and food aid, said David Shearer, head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN is also asking for money to support the Palestinians' health and education system.
According to the UN, 65 percent of Palestinians were living in poverty and 29 percent were unemployed. The Palestinian health care system is running out of medicine and on the verge of collapse, and nearly 50 percent of Palestinians do not have reliable access to food.
In addition, some 160,000 Palestinian Authority employees, who support about a million people, have not received their paychecks in recent months.
"Under the current circumstances, poverty levels keep continuing to rise," said Shearer.
The UN officials criticized the restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinian movement, which, according to them, ‘limit the Palestinians’ access to workplaces, markets, health service centers and schools.’
“While humanitarian aid can slow the deterioration, what is really needed is a political settlement to the issue," Shearer said.
'Understanding for Hamas' stance'
Sources in the Palestinian Authority said the European Union transferred during the past few days a special payment of 185 euros to some 73,000 Palestinian households in financial distress.
PA officials are eagerly anticipating a possible crack in the economic siege imposed on the Palestinians.
The Palestinian news agency Maan, quoting a senior member of the Palestinian government, reported Wednesday that "ministers of the Hamas-led government recently held talks with European countries and with a delegation of the American Democratic Party.
According to the source, in the talks, the European officials showed their understanding for Hamas' stance.
According to the report, several European countries are already holding talks with Hamas, and the dialogue has succeeded in bringing about a certain change in the European stance toward the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
Hamas and Fatah have blamed each other for the dire economic situation. While Hamas stress the government’s economic achievements under the siege, Fatah claims that Hamas’ only ‘achievement’ is the appointment of thousands of the group’s activists to public posts.
