Benn calls for more international cash to plug Palestinian funding shortfall
UK commits £3m for public sector workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Hilary Benn’s message comes on the morning of a meeting of European ministers in Brussels, attended by the UK Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, which is expected to discuss aid to Palestinians through the funding channel, the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). There is an estimated shortfall of over €200m (£136m) which could be reduced quickly if donors announced new pledges to support Palestinian livelihoods and services and boost the economy. Last year saw an increase in EU aid to the Palestinian people, but more aid is needed to continue paying allowances to PA workers and to the poorest and most vulnerable Palestinians.
‘The situation for Palestinians is very difficult. A quarter of households do not have reasonable access to water and the economy is still shrinking, although at a much slower rate. The UK and other European donors responded last year by contributing 27% more than in 2005. The TIM has helped to avert a humanitarian crisis with fuel to keep water, sanitation and clinics running and to ensure continued electricity supplies. It is helping to ease the financial burden of around 900,000 Palestinians.
‘However, new aid from donors is needed to continue this work and Israel must release the remaining Palestinian funds which they are withholding. The UK’s pledge today brings our total aid commitment to £15m through the Temporary International Mechanism, and we stand ready to do more. This will be a vital lifeline for tens of thousands of workers and their families who have been helping to keep hospitals, schools and other public services running without full pay for over a year.’
Hilary Benn added that while the TIM was currently the most effective way of getting aid to the Palestinians, he hoped it would be a short, not long-term solution:
‘What the Palestinian people really need is peace. This is what the UK is pushing for and it’s why we are encouraging all members of the National Unity Government to commit to the three Quartet principles of giving up violence, recognising Israel’s right to exist and signing up to previous peace agreements. I hope that the TIM will be a short-term, not a long-term solution. The UK would want to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority as soon as we are confident that these principles have been met and appropriate financial management is in place. Until then the most effective way to get aid to the Palestinians is through the TIM.’
Palestinian Finance Minister, Salaam Fayyad said:
‘The TIM has played a vital role in helping to avert a humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. My aim is that Israel will release the Palestinian revenues it is holding back. However, until that is done, increased funding will be needed for the TIM and I hope that donors from the EU and elsewhere will be able to respond.’
Fadel, a nurse in a West Bank hospital, spoke of the impact the TIM allowances were having on her life:
"It has facilitated my life, particularly with transportation, for rent and for the supermarket. I am a nurse, and I have a duty to provide care for the patients in the hospital, so it’s difficult to reach them, to provide any care, without paying for transportation."
Since last July aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories has been mainly channelled through a closely-monitored international fund set up to protect donations from terrorism, which has been hailed by many donors as the most effective way of getting money to the Palestinians. Around 900,000 people are already benefiting from around £150m EU funding under the TIM, which has also delivered over 47m litres of fuel to help run hospitals and water services in Gaza.
1. In a written statement to Parliament today, Hilary Benn announced the £3m funding and commented on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
2. Margaret Beckett is representing the UK at the GAERC (General Affairs and External Relations Council) meeting in Brussels today.
3. With this latest £3m contribution, the UK will have provided £15m through the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). The UK has fully disbursed its 2006/07 commitment of the TIM;
- £3m for essential health supplies
- £3m for operating, maintenance and repair costs for water, sanitation and electricity services
- £8.875m for allowances for public sector workers, and
- £125,000 in technical assistance.
4. The UK is a long-term provider of aid to Palestinians, having given over £380m since the start of the Oslo peace process.
5. The European Commission now estimates a funding shortfall of at least £136m (€200m) for 1 May to 31 December 2007.
6. 2006 saw the greatest yet EU funding to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The European Commission plus member states gave a total of £442 million – 27% more than in 2005. £122.7m of this went to the TIM. This is nearly three times the £42m which the EU gave in budget support to the Palestinian Authority in 2005. Overall, TIM payments have helped slow the economic decline. At the end of 2006 the IMF estimated a 5-10% contraction of the Palestinian GDP for 2006, far less than the 27% predicted by the World Bank at the start of the year. This, they attributed this partly to increased aid levels.
7. The TIM is needed because donors cannot fund the Palestinian Authority until they meet the Quartet principles of giving up violence, recognising Israel’s right to exist and signing up to previous peace agreements. It followed an original proposal by the Department for International Development. The EU established the TIM to support the basic needs of the Palestinian people including health, education, social affairs, fuel and utilities.
8. The international community has since begun to re-establish relations with the Palestinian Authority through contacts with Ministers and officials who respect the Quartet principles. Hilary Benn last met with the Palestinian Finance Minister, Salaam Fayyad, in the margins of the Spring meetings in Washington.
9. The European Community is contributing £141m (€207.5m) to the mechanism. Through our direct £15m contribution plus its share of European Community aid, the UK will have contributed as much as £39m. Other EU Member States are also making contributions. The mechanism is open to any donor that wishes to contribute.
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