On Ramadan's eve, severe financial crunch hitting occupied territories

[P F Tinmore]

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

 

[docmauser1]

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.

It's obvious, the current palistanian occupation doesn't pay, but they're still determined to prove a thesis of how to run their fraud of a state on foreign aid entirely nonetheless.

 

[P F Tinmore]

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.

It's obvious, the current palistanian occupation doesn't pay, but they're still determined to prove a thesis of how to run their fraud of a state on foreign aid entirely nonetheless.

The old Oslo PA has expired an is dead. A new constitution creating a new government was approved in 2003. It does not mention Israel. It does not mention the occupation. It does not mention Oslo. It does not mention the PLO.

Now if Abbas and his crook cronies would get out of the way and let the new government work...

 

[docmauser1]

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.

It's obvious, the current palistanian occupation doesn't pay, but they're still determined to prove a thesis of how to run their fraud of a state on foreign aid entirely nonetheless.

The old Oslo PA has expired an is dead. A new constitution creating a new government was approved in 2003. It does not mention Israel. It does not mention the occupation. It does not mention Oslo. It does not mention the PLO. Now if Abbas and his crook cronies would get out of the way and let the new government work...

Been there, heard that. Normal people typically try to get a life and a job, palistoonians, on the other hand, ruin whatever they have, including opportunities of getting a life and a job. Their raison d'etre has been destruction of another state. Arafat, pisss be on his grave, had proclaimed in his Gaza speech that Gaza city would've become a new Singapore or something. Where's that Singapore? - In the arab dreams of saddling Tel Aviv and plundering it like no tomorrow, of course. When recent heavy rains poured, Caza city was swimming in its own shitt, literally, because those idiots wouldn't maintain (let alone upgrade) their sewage system. Cologne Gaza, anyone?

 

[waltky]

Israeli and Asian markets reeling...

Israeli Stock Market Plunges in Response to US Debt Crisis
August 07, 2011 - The debt crisis in the United States, including the downgrading of the U.S. debt rating by a major agency, had a negative impact on the first day of the trading week in the Middle East. Stock markets in Dubai and Egypt dropped about four percent, and the effects were even worse in Israel.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange delayed its open by 45 minutes to avoid panic but it did not help. The market plunged by seven percent in response to the downgrade of the debt rating in the United States. "It is a powerful shock," economist Yaakov Sheinin told Israel Radio. He said U.S. President Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve should do something to calm world markets.

For Israel, the stock market plunge is the second shock in two days. On Saturday, a quarter of a million Israelis took to the streets to protest the high cost of living and low wages. It was the biggest event yet in a month of street protests over the skyrocketing price of housing, food and gasoline. A modest apartment in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv can cost $500,000 while the average salary in Israel is about $2,500 a month.

Israel's booming economy is growing at an annual rate of five percent, but the protests point to a widening gap between rich and poor. Demonstrators are demanding that the government lower taxes, subsidize housing and bring prices down. That is putting pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whose approval rating has plummeted since the protests began, to just 32 percent. At the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu expressed sympathy for the protesters, but said there is no quick fix.

The prime minister announced the formation of a panel of government ministers and top economists to meet with the protesters and draw up a plan to reduce the cost of living. But he said Israel must be cautious about public spending in the wake of the U.S. debt crisis. Netanyahu said Israel needs to improve the plight of the middle class, but stressed that the government must be "fiscally responsible."

Source

See also:

Asian stock markets fall after US credit downgrade
– Asian stocks dropped sharply Monday as the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating jolted the global financial system, reinforcing fears of a rapid slowdown in economic growth.

Oil prices extended recent sharp losses, trading below $85 a barrel on expectations that slower global growth will crimp demand for crude. The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro. Among the major Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 4 percent to 20,109.49 and South Korea's Kospi slid 3.3 percent to 1,879.93. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was down 1.3 percent to 9,178.03 by its midday break. Futures pointed to losses on Wall Street when it opens Monday. Dow futures were off 225 points, or 2 percent, at 11,177 and broader S&P 500 futures shed 25.5 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,172.42.

Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating to AA+ from the top-notch AAA, announced late Friday, was yet another blow to confidence in the struggling U.S. economy. It adds to growing fears that the world's No. 1 economy may be headed back into recession. Those anxieties have been compounded by signs that Europe's government debt crisis is threatening to engulf bigger economies such as Italy and Spain.

David Cohen of Action Economics in Singapore said the downgrade caused already nervous investors to flee riskier assets such as stocks but need not derail the U.S. economic recovery even if it is sluggish. "Clearly, the downgrade fed the anxiety that was evident in global markets last week," Cohen said. "But we need not see another global financial crisis as long as people can calm down quickly enough." Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 1.8 percent to 4,030.80. Singapore's benchmark dived 3.7 percent, Taiwan's market slid 2.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite shed 3 percent.

"I think it's still a matter of people being cautious given they don't really know how wildly these overseas markets will respond," Westpac Banking Corp. chief economist Bill Evans told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. "I would expect people will take the risk off the table at the moment waiting for some more clarity in those two big issues: how will the U.S. respond to the downgrade and will the Europeans settle down these concerns in Europe?" he said.

More Asian stock markets sink after US credit downgrade - Yahoo! News

 

[CitizenPained]

Aren't leftists fond of this mantra?

 

[P F Tinmore]

It's obvious, the current palistanian occupation doesn't pay, but they're still determined to prove a thesis of how to run their fraud of a state on foreign aid entirely nonetheless.

The old Oslo PA has expired an is dead. A new constitution creating a new government was approved in 2003. It does not mention Israel. It does not mention the occupation. It does not mention Oslo. It does not mention the PLO. Now if Abbas and his crook cronies would get out of the way and let the new government work...

Been there, heard that. Normal people typically try to get a life and a job, palistoonians, on the other hand, ruin whatever they have, including opportunities of getting a life and a job. Their raison d'etre has been destruction of another state. Arafat, pisss be on his grave, had proclaimed in his Gaza speech that Gaza city would've become a new Singapore or something. Where's that Singapore? - In the arab dreams of saddling Tel Aviv and plundering it like no tomorrow, of course. When recent heavy rains poured, Caza city was swimming in its own shitt, literally, because those idiots wouldn't maintain (let alone upgrade) their sewage system. Cologne Gaza, anyone?

palistoonians, on the other hand, ruin whatever they have, including opportunities of getting a life and a job.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5UKLRRM2iE]‪This is what the Palestinian economy looks like‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

 

[CitizenPained]

This is 2011, moron.

IMF: Palestinian Economy Is Growing - WSJ.com

 

[P F Tinmore]

This is 2011, moron.

IMF: Palestinian Economy Is Growing - WSJ.com

The Palestinian economy grew by a resounding 9% in the West Bank and 16% in Gaza through the first half of 2010,

Hmmm.

You should read up on Fayyad's economic plan. It is not what the salesmen say it is.

Remember Argentina.