Palestinians Facing Urgent Fiscal Crisis, Unprecedented Scope of Challenges – UN Warns

By Staff, Agencies

A new UN report warned that the Palestinian Authority [PA] is facing an array of “unprecedented”, financial, humanitarian and political challenges that “threaten the stability of the West Bank and the very survival of the Palestinian state building effort.”

The report issued for the upcoming bi-annual meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee [AHLC] in Brussels on April 30 said that despite the calming of tensions on the Gaza border in April and commendable UN efforts -- doubling the supply of electricity over the past year, creating thousands of temporary jobs, and providing emergency medical supplies -- the Palestinian Authority faces an “urgent financial crisis” that must be addressed through “bold policy decisions by all sides,” said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

The assessment highlighted the Zionist border restrictions on the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, the report focused on the ‘Israeli’ actions that have mounted significant challenges to the livelihood of Palestinians and curtailed their prospects of statehood.

“With regard to the occupied West Bank, the report warned of the unprecedented financial, security and political challenges faced by the Palestinian National Authority. The report detailed the backdrop, which includes continued ‘Israeli’ military occupation, settlement expansion and demolitions, territorial fragmentation, lack of jurisdiction, increased Palestinian protection needs… and dwindling financial support,” the UN press release stated.

Above all, the report pinpointed the financial crisis exacerbated by the Zionist entity’s decision to withhold 6% of the revenues it collects on behalf of the PA, which responded by refusing to receive any payments.

“As a result of these decisions, the Palestinian Government has been deprived of some 65% of its revenue and forced to take extreme austerity measures,” the report explained.