fanger
Gold Member
Shir Hever, an Israeli economist who has spent years piecing together the murky economics of the occupation, recently published a report that makes shocking reading.
Like others, he believes international aid has allowed Israel to avoid footing the bill for its decades-old occuption. But he goes further.
His astonishing conclusion – one that may surprise Israel’s settlers – is that at least 78 per cent of humanitarian aid intended for Palestinians ends up in Israel’s coffers.
The sums involved are huge. The Palestinians under occupation are among the most aid-dependent in the world, receiving more than $2bn from the international community a year. According to Hever, donors could be directly subsidising up to a third of the occupation’s costs.
Other forms of Israeli profiteering have been identified in previous studies.
In 2013 the World Bank very conservatively estimated that the Palestinians lose at least $3.4bn a year in resources plundered by Israel.
Further, Israel’s refusal to make peace with the Palestinians, and as a consequence the rest of the region, is used to justify Washington’s annual $3bn in military aid.
Israel also uses the occupied territories as laboratories for testing weapons and surveillance systems on Palestinians – and then exports its expertise. Israel’s military and cyber industries are hugely profitable, generating many billions of dollars of income each year.
Study: At least 78% of humanitarian aid intended for Palestinians ends up in Israeli coffers
The label “the most aid-dependent people in the world” – usually affixed to the Palestinians – might be better used to describe Israelis.
Israel should be totally responsible for the health, welfare, education and economic opportunity in those areas it occupies.
Like others, he believes international aid has allowed Israel to avoid footing the bill for its decades-old occuption. But he goes further.
His astonishing conclusion – one that may surprise Israel’s settlers – is that at least 78 per cent of humanitarian aid intended for Palestinians ends up in Israel’s coffers.
The sums involved are huge. The Palestinians under occupation are among the most aid-dependent in the world, receiving more than $2bn from the international community a year. According to Hever, donors could be directly subsidising up to a third of the occupation’s costs.
Other forms of Israeli profiteering have been identified in previous studies.
In 2013 the World Bank very conservatively estimated that the Palestinians lose at least $3.4bn a year in resources plundered by Israel.
Further, Israel’s refusal to make peace with the Palestinians, and as a consequence the rest of the region, is used to justify Washington’s annual $3bn in military aid.
Israel also uses the occupied territories as laboratories for testing weapons and surveillance systems on Palestinians – and then exports its expertise. Israel’s military and cyber industries are hugely profitable, generating many billions of dollars of income each year.
Study: At least 78% of humanitarian aid intended for Palestinians ends up in Israeli coffers
The label “the most aid-dependent people in the world” – usually affixed to the Palestinians – might be better used to describe Israelis.
Israel should be totally responsible for the health, welfare, education and economic opportunity in those areas it occupies.
