Oxfam: boycott pushes Palestinians to poverty and sssential services meltdown
Palestine-Regional, Politics, 4/16/2007

Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) said that more than four out of five of the 677 families interviewed have seen a drop in their income following the year long boycott of the Palestinian Authority.

In a survey was commissioned by, The British Charity Organization, Oxfam and conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion(PCPO) between 12-19 March 2007, PCPO said that it interviewed 67 senior managers running schools, hospitals and water services across the West Bank and Gaza. Nine out of ten managers said that services had been negatively affected by this boycott. Half of the essential service managers reported that they have cut their vital services by 50 percent or more because of insufficient funding.

"Palestinians had already been struggling to make ends meet when key Western donors including the US, EU and Canada suspended direct aid to the Palestinian government in April 2006. The move came in response to the victory of Hamas in parliamentary elections. Israel halted tax and customs revenue transfers it owed to the PA shortly afterwards," Oxfam said.

Oxfam's survey showed that the financial boycott has had a devastating impact on civilians.

"International aid should be provided impartially on the basis of need, not as a political tool to change the policies of a government," said Oxfam International Executive Director Jeremy Hobbs.

"Oxfam opposes violence against civilians and supports Israel's right to exist alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state. But suspending aid - and withholding tax revenue in violation of international agreements - is not an ethical or effective way to achieve these outcomes. And in this case, it hasn't worked. Instead, parents have been driven into debt, children taken out of classrooms and whole families deprived of access to medicine and healthcare," added Hobbs.

Oxfam called on the European Union to continue helping Palestinians civilians by making direct payments to many government workers and welfare recipients, has failed to prevent spiraling poverty which has increased by 30 per cent in 2006 according to the UN.

"Europe's foreign ministers should not miss the opportunity of their forthcoming meeting in Brussels to restore the faith of Palestinians in the European Union," Hobbs added. "Despite welcoming the National Unity Government, the European Union has failed to restore aid payments. With Palestinian institutions collapsing and insecurity growing, the resumption of international aid to the Palestinian Authority is a necessary step to preventing further suffering and securing a just and lasting settlement on the basis of international law," Hobbs said.

The survey was conducted at random and across districts of the West Bank and Gaza. And it is not a representative sample of the whole population.

Previous Stories:
  Arab governments to support the Palestinian unity government   (3/26/2007)
  Voices in Europe grow for end to sanctions on Palestinians   (3/26/2007)
  Rice: US will aid Palestinian people, deal with Abbas   (3/20/2007)
  EU welcomes formation of Palestinian National Unity government   (3/20/2007)
  Egyptian, Saudi ministers in Jordan for Middle East peace talks   (3/13/2007)
  Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to take part in Quartet 's meeting In Cairo   (3/6/2007)
  Rice visit, pressing for recognition of Israel stumbling block   (2/21/2007)
  Rice: peace process can defuse Palestinian violence   (2/4/2007)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search