Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 7 July 2009

Israel has strongly rejected an EU official’s allegation that Israeli settlements impact negatively on the Palestinian economy.

Senior Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rafael Barak, has called on the head of the EU delegation to Israel, Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian Uzal, to explain a statement made on 6 July 2009 by an EC official that Israeli security measures and settlements are “strangling the Palestinian economy” and perpetuating PA dependence on donors.

According to reports, a technical assistant employed by ECTAO, the European Commission Technical Assistance Office, which works in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, said, “[I]t is the European taxpayers who pay most of the price of this dependence.” The funding includes US$280 million so far this year, because settlements prevent the PA from functioning normally.

Ambassador Barak stated that Israel strongly rejects the political allegations made by the technical assistant.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said political statements of this nature clearly fall outside the mandate of the ECTAO office in question, which is charged with a purely technical role in the channelling of assistance.

The statement itself is also clearly unfounded, the ministry said. It ignores the fact that the issue of settlements has been agreed by the parties to be addressed in parallel with the fulfilment of other obligations - including Palestinian security obligations - and also that, in its disengagement plan, Israel, by dismantling all settlements in the Gaza Strip and several in the West Bank, went considerably beyond its obligations under existing agreements.

Even more troubling to Israel is the technical assistant’s implication that Israeli security measures in the West Bank are unnecessary and even illegal, alongside a total failure to recognize that it is the continued activity of Palestinian terrorist groups which makes such measures an unfortunate necessity.

The statement also chose to ignore the recent improvements in the West Bank economy, the ministry said. Recent World Bank, IMF and Palestinian Ministry of Finance data point to significant improvement of the Palestinian economy, even during the current global financial crisis. Indeed, official Palestinian data indicates that the West Bank has shown economic growth rates of 5-7% in 2008.

The Middle East Quartet (United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation, and the United States), in a statement issued on 26 June 2009, welcomed plans by the government of Israel to promote Palestinian economic development and declared its readiness to work closely with Israel, the Palestinian government and international donors in order to achieve sustainable economic development. Furthermore, the transfer of EU financial aid to the PA is carried out with the support and cooperation of the State of Israel.

According to the ministry, the Quartet recognized in this statement that Israel has legitimate security concerns that must continue to be safeguarded. In fact, it is the improved security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that has made possible the removal of 140 checkpoints and roadblocks in recent months. These measures, which even won recognition by the Palestinian media, are expected to double real economic growth in the West Bank, from 5% to 10%. Regretfully, these facts were not deemed worthy of mention by the European official.

Ultimately, a vibrant, stable economy will be achieved through the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the PA, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In the meantime, the European technical assistant would do well to concentrate his efforts on the tasks for which he is responsible, instead of making unfounded accusations against Israel.