More "Money, Money, Money"

International agencies asked donor countries on Tuesday for $462 million in aid to the Palestinians for 2008, to counter rising poverty and the closure of Gaza by Israel and Egypt.

The appeal came from UN aid agencies and dozens of nongovernmental organizations. If the money is granted, the Palestinians would become the third largest recipient of such aid after Sudan and Congo, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Pay-As-You-Go Palestinianism

President Bush Sets Economic Development Effort for Palestinians
Executives hope to visit Bethlehem to show they are ready for business

A new, joint effort by the U.S. government and private businesses will focus on creating new jobs for Palestinians, President Bush said December 3.

The president’s announcement followed successful November talks held in Annapolis, Maryland, at which Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to pursue direct negotiations, supported by the United States, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state.

Bush spoke at the White House December 3 about the need for economic initiatives to aid Palestinians, especially Palestinian youth, as the parties relaunch the peace process.

After welcoming Tahani Abu Daqqa, minister of youth for the Palestinian Authority, Bush said, “One of the things that interests me a lot is the fact that we are going to help the Palestinians develop youth centers, places where young Palestinians can come and learn new technical skills, or language skills, or have mentoring programs -- all aimed at saying, there is a hopeful future … a future where peace is possible.”

Something to Monitor

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President Bush, in his July 16 statement, announced the United States is strengthening its financial commitment to the Palestinian people and the government led by President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The President announced the intention of the United States to provide $80 million to help the Palestinians reform their security services and improve the lives of the Palestinian people.

Today, Secretary Rice and Prime Minister Fayyad signed a Framework Agreement to establish a mechanism to move forward with the President’s commitment.

The Framework Agreement formalizes the intention of the United States to provide assistance to the Palestinian Authority to promote law and order by strengthening and reforming the Palestinian security sector. The Framework Agreement contains the terms and conditions designed to ensure that U.S. assistance funds will be used for the purposes agreed upon and in a fully accountable manner.

Under the Framework Agreement, U.S. assistance will be used to enhance the capability of the Palestinian security sector, including through training. The United States and the Palestinian Authority have worked together closely to design this program and will continue to cooperate in its implementation.