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Contents:
Consequence of the War on the
Palestinian Arab Economy Today
In the ambitious "Bethlehem 2000" project alone that climaxed with the visit of the Pope to Bethlehem, more than two billion dollars were invested. New and luxurious hotels were built in the city of Jesus's birth, along with a modern bus terminal and a conference center; infrastructure for various services was installed and hospitality and entertainment centers were opened. Similar investments in tourist projects were made in Jericho, Ramallah and even Gaza. A large portion of the funding for these projects came from external sources, from the countries that contributed to the Palestinian Authority. But large private and public investments were also made by the Palestinians themselves. Needless to say, the tourism industry is the most sensitive of all to security events. In other words, whoever invests such huge sums in tourism not only is not planning violent events, but indeed does not even imagine that something like a war is about to break out. Thus we can state unequivocally that the economy of the Palestinian Authority in its short duration (1994-2000) was built as a peace economy. There are other aspects of the Palestinian economy that offer an explanation of sorts for the outbreak of the Intifada. A brief survey of the development of the Palestinian economy should also explain why so much attention is now being paid to the corruption rampant within Palestinian institutions. The Oslo agreement of September 1993 was signed at a time when a degree of separation was developing between the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza and the Israeli economy. Following the Israeli occupation of the territories, and in the course of over 20 years, near total integration was instituted between the economies of the Palestinian territories and Israel. Relations between the small and relatively backward Palestinian economy and Israel's large and modern economy were completely asymmetrical. It was Israel's minister of defense during the 1967 war, Moshe Dayan, who presided over the process of integrating the two economies, based on the free passage of goods between them. This generated the near total dependency of the Palestinian economy on that of Israel. Its main feature was the employment in Israel of half the Palestinian work force. Masses of laborers from the Gazan refugee camps and the villages of Judea and Samaria commuted daily to Israel to work in construction, agriculture, services and industry. This generated a process of rapid economic growth in the West Bank and Gaza. In 1986, some 20 years after the territories were occupied, Palestinian per capita income had reached 22 percent of that in Israel. In other words the Palestinians' economic situation, relative to Israel's, increased significantly during these years, and their income began to close the gap with incomes in Israel. It was in the course of the crisis generated by the Gulf War of early 1991 that closures were first imposed on the territories. But the dramatic change in the relationship between the economy of the territories and that of Israel came about with the Oslo Agreement and the establishment of Palestinian autonomy. Palestinian laborers could no longer enter Israel freely. Closure became a permanent matter of principle. Instead of integration between the two economies, rules of economic separation were developed against a backdrop that was both political and security- motivated. The establishment of Palestinian rule on the West Bank and in Gaza was accompanied by great expectations for economic growth. The ensuing disappointment was equally great. Separation from Israel through closure generated high rates of Palestinian unemployment. Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers stood beyond the fences and the roadblocks and pondered how the peace process had created a situation whereby guest workers from Rumania, China and Thailand were taking their places. Following the Oslo Agreement, large sums of money flowed to the Palestinian Authority to finance national projects involving tourism, communications industries, an airport at Rafah, the first stages of constructing a seaport at Gaza, and offshore gas production. But this could not replace sources of employment in Israel. Only the Palestinian ruling elite benefited financially. Senior PA officials also received benefits from Israel: free passage at roadblocks and concessions for advancing commercial projects and monopolies. The Gazan and West Bank lower classes became poorer and poorer. In 1998, four years after Palestinian rule was established, per capita income in the PA had dropped back to a low of 10 percent vis-à-vis that in Israel. The Palestinian economy had been set back some 20 years. Widespread instances of corruption and waste within PA institutions also emerged. Even more important was the impression that these phenomena made on the masses of unemployed and poor. A critical crisis of confidence developed between them and the ruling elite. Bitterness and jealousy generated endless stories and gossip about the luxurious life of those enjoying the privileges of rule at the expense of the suffering of the masses. These socioeconomic circumstances played a key role in the outbreak of the Intifada, and continue to exercise decisive influence on the widespread demands for reform and elimination of corruption within the ruling institutions of the Palestinian Authority.- Danny Rubinstein is a member of the Editorial Board of Haaretz. He specializes in Palestinian issues, and lectures in the Department of Middle East History at Ben Gurion University in the Negev. This essay was published for Published on 27/5/02 for ©bitterlemons.org, a project financed by the European Union
Saudi Sermon Declares War on
the Jews
#1 Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia TV1 in Arabic, official television station of the Saudi Government, at 0928 GMT 17 May 2002 carries a live sermon from the holy mosque in Mecca. Shaykh Usamah Ibn-Abdallah Khayyat delivers the sermon, which he begins by saying: "O Muslims, God has willed that the fire of the battle of destiny must not die down, but remain ablaze until He inherits the earth and all that is on it. For it is a battle of right against falsehood, guidance against deviation, and faith against infidelity. Indeed, it is the intifadah of goodness against evil in all shapes and colors, regardless of the different flags, many soldiers, big plots, and serious dangers. This battle is not a new development, but continuous chapters that go back in history, as related in the Holy Koran." The imam refers to the battles fought by the prophets; namely, Abraham against idol-worshippers, Moses against the Pharaohs, Muhammad against the Qurayshi infidels of Mecca, and, in recent history, Salah-al-Din against the crusaders in Jerusalem. He then says: "The intifadah by Muslims in Muslim Palestine today is a link in the chain of the battle of destiny. It is a living example of the confrontation between right, which is the defense of religion, holy places, freedom, dignity, and honor, and falsehood, which is usurpation, aggression, and violation of sanctities and holy places." Continuing, the imam says: "The battle of destiny is long and with continuous links. But, as in the past when God made right triumph over falsehood and gave victory to the faithful and humiliated the infidels, He would also give victory to Islam and make it raise the flag of right on Jerusalem and its vicinity and humiliate the criminal and tyrannical Jews so they would be a lesson for everyone." The imam continues with the theme of "victory of right against falsehood" in the second part of his sermon, saying that the hope for victory should prompt Muslims "to stick to their rights" until God fulfills His promise. He concludes with a prayer to God to support Islam, unify Muslims and guide their steps on what is right, and give victory to the mujahidin in Palestine, Kashmir, and Chechnya. He also prays to God "to deal with the tyrannical Jews and their supporters" and bring about their defeat. #2 Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia TV2 in Arabic, official television station of the Saudi Government, at 0931 17 May 2002 carries a live sermon from the holy mosque in Medina. Shaykh Ali al-Hudhayfi delivers the sermon, which he devotes to repentance, calling on worshippers to repent to God and atone for their sins. He concludes with a prayer to God to strengthen Islam and Muslims, humble infidelity and infidels, and destroy the enemies of religion. He also prays for the unity of Muslims and the victory of "our brethren in Palestine."
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