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
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese