The UN's Middle East envoy warned on Tuesday that bankrupting the Palestinian caretaker government could be seen by Palestinians and Arabs as punishment for Hamas' election victory and could shake the already unstable Middle East peace process.
In a report to the UN Security Council, Alvaro De Soto said that failing to fill the gap in aid to an indebted Palestinian government during the caretaker period could alter a recent "evolution" of the incoming Hamas government.
The Palestinian Authority's financial condition is expected to become even more shaky now that Israel has decided to halt payments of the nearly US$55 million a month it collects in taxes and tariffs for the Palestinians in response to the militant Islamic group's victory in Jan. 25 elections.
PHOTO: EPA
During this interim period before the formation of the new government, De Soto said, "we should be alert to the danger that cutting off assistance ... might be interpreted by Palestinians and the Arab world as a whole as punishment of the Palestinian people for the way they voted."
De Soto warned that if the Palestinian Authority "is allowed to collapse or is sacrificed, then with it may go hopes of achieving a Palestinian state in a reasonable timeframe."
"There are dangers of many varieties here, including a human problem of stopping basic services to the population and the ability of the Palestinian Authority to pay salaries," he said afterward.
An estimated 130,000 civil servants who work for the Palestinian Authority and 67,000 security personnel could be left unpaid if the estimated budget deficit of US$260 million is not covered, according to De Soto.
De Soto said Hamas had "clearly undergone an evolution of sorts" in maintaining an overall ceasefire and participating in elections which it had previously rejected.
"But it is too early to say whether that evolution is irreversible, and whether it will continue in the right direction," he said.
"The choices Hamas makes are the single most important variable that will shape the future of the conflict," De Soto said.
He reiterated Secretary-General Kofi Annan's view that "it will take time for clarity to emerge."
The UN envoy called for continued adherence to the Arab Peace Initiative and the deal's principles of non-violence and recognition of Israel's right to exist.
De Soto expressed hope that the new Hamas-led government "will commit to those principles, not because of the appearance of pressure from outside, but because the Palestinian people have a right to expect that their new government will address their aspirations for peace and statehood."
He welcomed the EU's announcement on Monday that it will provide US$143 million of emergency assistance to the caretaker government and called on other international donors to do their part.
But he did not believe the EU aid could fully solve the problem.
It was unclear whether the EU or the US would make good on threats to cut all non-humanitarian aid once Hamas forms a new government. The EU, US and Israel have all demanded that Hamas renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.
During a trip to Tehran last week by Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal, Iran offered to help the Palestinians compensate for any cut in Western aid.
"I don't think assistance from Iran is the right way to go," US Ambassador John Bolton said when asked about the offer on Tuesday.
also see story:
Development aid is better wielded as a carrot and not a stick
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
RSS