UNCTAD participates in UN Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People – UNCTAD news item

UNCTAD takes part in a United Nations seminar on assistance to the Palestinian people

24 February — UNCTAD’s presentation focused on the causes for Palestinian fiscal instability, and especially the need to reintegrate East Jerusalem and its economy. The seminar called for concerted efforts from donors to assist in, and address, both technical and political challenges.

As part of the activities of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a two-day seminar was held in Cairo 6-7 February. The seminar was organized by the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights, and brought together representatives of Governments and international organizations, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations and the media.

The seminar reviewed the impact of Israeli policies and practices on the socio-economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), looked at the cost of the Israeli occupation incurred by the Palestinians and their economy, and examined the ways of sustaining the recent achievements following the implementation of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) State-building programme.

During the slot designated for UNCTAD’s Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit (APPU), Coordinator Mr. Mahmoud Elkhafif shed light on the impact of Israeli policies and practices on the economic situation in the OPT, including the restrictions on movement and access; displacement, dispossession and demolitions in East Jerusalem.

Mr. Elkhafif’s presentation focused on the source that causes Palestinian fiscal instability, which is rooted in the Israeli control of the tax and customs clearance revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which accounts to 60-70 per cent of total Palestinian revenues. Had the PA also collected taxes on “indirect imports” (goods imported to Israel and re-exported to the OPT as if they were produced in Israel) and reduced other fiscal leakages related to imports from Israel, Palestinian public revenue could have increased by one quarter and its budget deficit could have declined by one third. Israel has the upper hand in withholding these revenues and not diverting them to the PA, which negatively impacts the PA’s ability to pursue appropriate development policies, in particular, and disrupts the economic and civil life of Palestinians, in general.

UNCTAD’s presentation also emphasized that the growing physical and demographic separation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the OPT is a major obstacle to the viability of a future independent Palestine, as called for by the international community and the United Nations. “Reintegrating East Jerusalem’s economy within the broader national economy and allowing it to reassume its historic and pivotal economic role”, Mr. Elkhafif emphasized.

The seminar furthermore discussed the role of the international donor community in mitigating the cost of the occupation. It was noted that changes had to be introduced in donor policies in order for the interventions to have real impact on the ground. In particular, there had not been a concerted effort by the donor community to connect the political and the development sphere. The donors shy away from difficult political issues, focusing their programmes on technical issues, while their interventions should rather be intended to assist the Palestinian people in the establishment of their independent State and in overcoming the real challenges of dealing with a military occupation.