P F Tinmore
Diamond Member
- Dec 6, 2009
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According to PA officials, the current financial crisis hitting the occupied territories is probably the severest in living memory, certainly since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA), following the conclusion of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO in 1993.
Another key factor contributing to recurrent financial problems besetting the PA stems from the unnecessarily bloated security establishment which devours a huge chunk of the Palestinian budget.
The PA has as many as 80,000 security personnel on its payroll. The bloated force, built on instructions from the western donor countries, particularly the United States, consumes as much as $50 million per month.
Some security experts have opined that for the purposes of keeping law and order, the Palestinian community in the West Bank needs no more than a moderate civilian security force totaling 10,000-20,000 police officers.
However, the PA thinks that the huge security force is necessary to protect its own survival, especially in the face of a possible revolution and also to prevent the recurrence of what happened in the Gaza Strip in 2007 when the Islamic Liberation Movement, Hamas, wrested control over the coastal enclave, from Fatah militias which tried, with vigorous US assistance, to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Hamas.
In recent months, especially since the PA leadership announced plans to seek UN recognition of a putative Palestinian state, Israel suspended the transfer of customs and tax revenue payments to the Palestinian government in Ramallah. The financial strangulation was only relaxed after the PA pressed the Obama administration and EU states to pressure Israel to reconsider the draconian measure, resorted to every time the PA refuses to be at Israel's beck and call.
On Ramadan's eve, severe financial crunch hitting occupied territories
Another key factor contributing to recurrent financial problems besetting the PA stems from the unnecessarily bloated security establishment which devours a huge chunk of the Palestinian budget.
The PA has as many as 80,000 security personnel on its payroll. The bloated force, built on instructions from the western donor countries, particularly the United States, consumes as much as $50 million per month.
Some security experts have opined that for the purposes of keeping law and order, the Palestinian community in the West Bank needs no more than a moderate civilian security force totaling 10,000-20,000 police officers.
However, the PA thinks that the huge security force is necessary to protect its own survival, especially in the face of a possible revolution and also to prevent the recurrence of what happened in the Gaza Strip in 2007 when the Islamic Liberation Movement, Hamas, wrested control over the coastal enclave, from Fatah militias which tried, with vigorous US assistance, to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Hamas.
In recent months, especially since the PA leadership announced plans to seek UN recognition of a putative Palestinian state, Israel suspended the transfer of customs and tax revenue payments to the Palestinian government in Ramallah. The financial strangulation was only relaxed after the PA pressed the Obama administration and EU states to pressure Israel to reconsider the draconian measure, resorted to every time the PA refuses to be at Israel's beck and call.
On Ramadan's eve, severe financial crunch hitting occupied territories