On This Day

Learn about the history of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, equality and justice by exploring major events in the history of their oppression on this day of the year.

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7 December

ISRAEL TAKES AT LEAST 78% OF AID FOR PAALESTINIANS
Shir Heverat least 78% of the humanitarian aid sent from around the world and intended for PalestiniansOn this day in 2017, Israeli economist Shir Hever opened a Scottish speaking tour in Aberdeen to launch his latest book, The Privatisation of Israeli Security. Hever is the author of a widely cited paper demonstrating that at least 78% of the humanitarian aid sent from around the world and intended for Palestinians ends up in Israeli coffers. The result is that instead of Israel meeting its responsibilities to the population it occupies, it creams off enough aid to cover much of the costs of its illegal occupation.

 

 

 تستقطع إسرائيل ما لا يقل عن 78٪ من كل المساعدات الاساسية للفلسطينيين

7 ديسمبر

في مثل هذا اليوم من عام 2017 ،افتتح الاقتصادي الإسرائيلي شير هيفير جولة اسكتلندية كمتحدث في أبردين لإطلاق كتابه الأخير ، خصخصة الأمن الإسرائيلي. نشر هيفر مقاله بحثية تم الاستشهاد بها على نطاق واسع وهي توضح أن ما لا يقل عن 78٪ من المساعدات الإنسانية المرسلة من جميع أنحاء العالم والمخصصة للفلسطينيين ينتهي بها المطاف في الخزائن الإسرائيلية. والنتيجة هي أنه بدلاً من أن تفي إسرائيل بمسؤولياتها تجاه السكان الذين تحتلهم ، فإنها تقتطع من مساعداتهم المرسله لهم لتغطية الكثير من تكاليف احتلالها غير القانوني..


Who profits from keeping Gaza on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe? Keeping Gaza on the verge of collapse keeps international humanitarian aid money flowing to exactly where it benefits Israeli interests...

As long as Gaza remains on the brink of collapse, international donors keep the flow of humanitarian aid money going. If the crisis were ended and the siege lifted, it is safe to assume that that the international donors would change the type of aid they provide and return to focus on the development of the Gazan economy (as they did from 1994—2000, until the outbreak of the Second Intifada). This type of aid would likely compete with certain branches of Israeli companies and therefore threaten the Israeli economy. Keeping Gaza on the verge of collapse keeps international humanitarian aid money flowing exactly to where it benefits Israeli interests...

In a study I conducted for the Palestinian organization Aid Watch in 2015, I observed the correlation between international aid, on the one hand, and the trade deficit in goods and services between the Palestinian and Israeli economies, on the other. The data for the study was from 2000-2013. I found that some 78 percent of aid to the Palestinians found its way to the Israeli economy. This is a rough estimate, to be sure. And we need to remember that this isn’t simply clean profit for Israel companies but revenue. The Israeli companies need to provide goods and services for the money and bear the costs of production.

In light of these figures, it’s easy to understand the gap between the government’s populist declarations against the Palestinians and the steps it quietly but consistently takes to increase international humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. During an emergency meeting of contributing countries in January, Regional Cooperation Minister Tzahi Hanegbi presented a billion-dollar plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip — foreign funded, of course. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz’s plan to build an artificial island off the Gaza coast also suggested that foreign funders bear some of the cost of the occupation, bringing foreign cash into Israeli coffers, and, at the same time, preventing the situation in Gaza from deteriorating to the point of no-return...

The most important recent aid initiative to move beyond this situation is the flotilla initiative. The flotillas provide aid to Palestinians in coordination with Gaza residents’ specific demands for goods that are not permitted to cross through Kerem Shalom. Without using Israeli currency and without paying customs duties to the Israeli treasury, the boats attempt to provide the aid directly, without a middle-man. Unsurprisingly, the Israeli response has been violent – the army killed nine activists on the Mavi Marmara ship in May 2010.

But what would the Israeli government do if the major international aid organizations adopted a similar mode of action to supply the Palestinians with aid directly, without using Israeli companies and without paying taxes to the Israeli authorities? This strategy would expose the economic interest Israel has in keeping Gaza on “the brink” and would force the Israeli government to choose: take direct control over the lives of the Palestinians and pay the costs involved, or allow the international humanitarian organizations to supply aid under the conditions of their choosing, therefore helping the Palestinians out of the crisis.
Full article here

15-minute video: the economics of aid to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Nora Lester Murad and Shir Hever
https://youtu.be/2fSm_ljlBos