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The Palestinian economy is going through its toughest trials since 1948, said moderator Lamees A. Al Hadidi, Executive Chief Editor, Al Alam Al Youm Newspaper, Egypt. Is there a way out of the current situation? she asked.
For Mohammad A. Mustafa, Chief Executive Officer, Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), Palestinian Territories; Economic Adviser to the President, the immediate solution is an end to bad policies that are blocking financial flows to prevent funds falling into the hands of the Hamas government. If these policies are changed, the Palestinian private sector, in cooperation with the global business community, could get the economy back on its feet, but it needs investment in major sectors like telecommunications and infrastructure projects like the sea- and airports in Gaza. "Despite all the difficulties, Palestine is still open for business, and we need your support so that aid can be replaced by trade."
Shimon Peres, Vice-Premier of Israel; Minister for the Development of the Negev and Galilee, Israel, held out the prospect of a "triangle of cooperation" involving Israel, a future Palestinian state and Jordan, that would boost the development of the whole region through joint economic projects. This could include irrigation and desalination projects, saving the Dead Sea, developing copper deposits and creating an economic zone along the border regions. But the financing would have to come from the business sector because governments do not have money. "So we think we have to privatize peace … Making peace means building an economy which enables people to live decently."
The European Union is currently working on a plan to find a way of funnelling funds to the Palestinians but bypassing the Hamas authorities, said Alvaro De Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Jerusalem. "Watch this space." The nub of the current problem is that Hamas has a charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. "The party has a record of terrorist activity in the past as long as my arm, so the international community has legitimate questions." The majority of Palestinians want peace based on a two-state solution, but will Hamas listen to them?
Tatsuo Arima, Special Envoy of the Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, said it is essential to reactivate the peace process and end violence. Japan hopes that the current Palestinian authority "will follow the path of coexistence and co-prosperity with Israel". But it also wants Israel to refrain from any action that would prejudice a final peace settlement and to transfer to the Palestinians the taxes it has been withholding.
Peres' vision of future cooperation is attractive, said Munib R. Masri, Chairman, PADICO, Palestinian Territories, but the biggest problem is the occupation, and the priority is to put a quick end to the suffering of the Palestinian people. Checkpoints that make travel and transport of goods across the Territories very difficult need to be removed. "We are living in a big jail in Palestine." The Palestinian private sector wants to see fruitful negotiations between President Abbas and Israel and it wants the formation of a Palestinian government of technocrats, helping to solve the problem posed by Hamas.
When the debate was opened to the floor, Palestinian participants accused Israel of putting their population under siege and punishing them for making their "democratic choice" in electing Hamas to power. Unemployment and poverty, now very high, are the outcome of the Israeli occupation, participants argued. One said the two peoples disagree on the meaning of peace. For Israelis, it is ending terror. For the Palestinians, it means ending the occupation. Responding, Peres said he wishes that President Abbas were in charge "in real terms". What can Israel do faced with a Hamas government that refuses to respect the right to life of the Israeli people? Israel has made peace with Egypt and Jordan, giving back land it had occupied. "But we left Gaza and they still shoot at us. … We are not going to give money to Hamas so they can buy guns."
"I don't think we have reached any solutions," said Al Hadidi, closing the session.
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