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"International aid should be provided impartially on the basis of need, not as a political tool to change the policies of a government," said Hobbs |
CAIRO — International relief agency Oxfam on Friday, April 13, called for an immediate resumption of Western aid to the Palestinians, warning that the year-long boycott has sent the Palestinians deeper into poverty.
"International aid should be provided impartially on the basis of need, not as a political tool to change the policies of a government," said Oxfam International Executive Director Jeremy Hobbs in a statement on the group's website.
The EU and US have imposed a financial boycott on the Palestinians when Hamas came to power in March 2006, greatly affecting the livelihood in the occupied territories.
Hamas and Fatah formed a Palestinian unity government following crisis talks in the Saudi city of Makkah to help end the Western boycott on the Palestinians.
But the EU and US, the biggest aid donors to the Palestinians, declined to resume aid, demanding Hamas to recognize Israel, "renounce violence" and uphold previous agreements with Israel to resume aid.
"Despite welcoming the National Unity Government, the European Union has failed to restore aid payments," Hobbs lamented.
The US and EU have not formally recognized the new Palestinian government.
Norway, the only Western country to normalize ties with the Palestinian unity government, said Thursday, April 12, that it was ready to resume direct aid to the Palestinian government.
"Europe's foreign ministers should not miss the opportunity of their forthcoming meeting to restore the faith of Palestinians in the European Union," added Hobbs.
The EU ministers were due to hold their talks on April 23 and 24 in Luxembourg to discuss the aid resumption to the Palestinians.
New Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayaad on Wednesday urged the international community to save the Palestinian territories from a "very acute financial crisis".
However, he failed to get EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner to agree to a deal formally with the Palestinian unity government or to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Unethical
The London-based group slammed the Western aid boycott as "unethical", warning that year-long blockade has sent the Palestinians deeper into poverty.
"Suspending aid – and withholding tax revenue in violation of international agreements – is not an ethical or effective way to achieve these outcomes," said Hobbs.
"And in this case, it hasn't worked. Parents have been driven into debt, children taken out of classrooms and whole families deprived of access to medicine and healthcare."
A survey commissioned by Oxfam found that more than 4/5 Palestinian families have seen a drop in their income following the Western boycott.
The survey showed that half of the Palestinian families reported losing more than half their income.
It also found that essential services have been brought to meltdown.
Ninety percent of services in schools, hospitals and water services across the West Bank and Gaza had been undermined by the boycott
"Half of the essential service managers reported that they have cut their vital services by 50 per cent or more because of insufficient funding," said Oxfam.
According to the UN, the Palestinian poverty rate has soured by 30% in 2006.
"With Palestinian institutions collapsing and insecurity growing, the resumption of international aid to the Palestinian Authority is a necessary step to preventing further suffering and securing a just and lasting settlement on the basis of international law," Oxfam concluded.
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