Pieces of State, Part I
Published January 22, 2007
The Palestinian Authority (PA) economy has never been allowed to expand as it should. In Gaza restricted land access, strict internal and external security measures and high population density have put the fragile economy under pressure. In the West Bank the same type of security measures, restricting movements of people to and from jobs and businesses, and making the movement and export of goods extremely difficult have had the same effect on the economy. The West Bank's population is slightly less dense which slightly eases the pressure on its economy.
Security measures have been tightened and employed even more frequently, largely in response to the elevated threat from Palestinian resistance groups since the Second Intifada began. Borders and checkpoints being closed severely disrupting trade and labor movements and Israeli military actions destroying businesses and administrative structures were both a factor in the recession of 2001-2002. The separation wall being constructed since late 2002 has further exacerbated the problems. Corruption in the PA and the selfish plundering of its budget has also been extremely detrimental to the growth of the economy.
Israeli and Western reaction to the election of Hamas in the January 2006 PA elections, refusing aid and boycotting exports and services, increased the Palestinian deficit from $50-$65 billion to $100-$110 billion per month. Israel also began withholding tax revenues, which accounted for a third of the PA budget and were used for paying the full salaries of its 140,000 employees, the main breadwinners for a third of Palestinian families. These actions have combined to cripple the Palestinian economy
Hamas was elected for its stance on corruption and they haven't plundered the economy, nor have they put selfish greed before Palestinian welfare. The west's embargo has made this irrelevant. The economy is in a worse state than ever.
There are people and companies trying to help. Zaytoun is a UK company paying fair-trade prices to import olive oil and other produce from growers in Palestine. The products are sold over the internet and through many small outlets, with hope of attracting bigger stores. I will be covering Zaytoun in my next article in this series.
Another is Joe Turner of Freedom Clothing, a UK not for profit co-operative set up in Jun 2005, importing Palestinian clothing for sale online. I spoke to Joe by telephone. He told me that at the moment he only imports t-shirts from one factory in Beit Jala employing 80 Palestinians. He has his own printer and prints t-shirts with designs to order, for charities and organizations etc.
- Pieces of State, Part I
- Published: January 22, 2007
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Culture: Religion, Politics: International, Politics: Law and Rights, Politics: War and Terrorism
- Writer: Liam Bailey
- Liam Bailey's BC Writer page
- Liam Bailey's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Hello Ruvy,
Thanks for your comments. As far as I can see, you have not provided any evidence of 'wrong-headedness' or 'incorrect approach' in Liam's article - and by extension the behaviour of my company.
I never said that I defended the PA, nor would I try to. I have never met a PA politician. I have met several civil servants who have had no pay for more than 6 months, however.
If you have a better idea of how to increase the income of the average Palestinian worker, I would be very pleased to hear about it - contact me on the link Liam gave. Otherwise, you've just supplied more fine words which cannot be eaten.
Hi Joe,
My only criticism of your company is that it is a "cause" company. That is to say, if an Arab state develops that is economically viable, the need for your firm will disappear. You point this out yourself in Liam's article. Beyond that, you do your best, and are to be commended for your work. In doing what you do, you are putting food on someone's table. I am the last person to criticize that. It is far better than some UNWRA welfare program enabling terrorists to control a refugee camp.
The wrong-headedness in Liam's article is not in spotlighting YOUR work or YOUR firm, but rather in his opening two paragraphs which only hint at the decline in the standard of living in the Arab territories of Israel given to the "PA" to administer. It used to be de rigeur that Arabs were employed in Israel and, and even if they were underpaid unfairly (and I have no trouble asserting that they were underpaid unfairly), it was still money on the table. Due to the terrorist violence instigated out of Ramallah, that no longer happens.
I've managed restaurants in the past, have some understanding of making a business work better, and have worked as a consultant in just that field, but the only way I could possibly help you would be to visit your factory personally.
That would likely be the last trip I'd make in my life... It didn't used to be that way.
The Zionist state that put the PA in power in 1993-4, is a criminal regime that is shooting itself in its own feet. The people who founded this country no longer believe in it. All they believe in now is stealing money from people who can't fight back, ruining the lives of those whose agenda they hate, and turning "Palestine" into a paying proposition - for them. Since Hamas was elected, the ties between the criminals in the Kirya in Jerusalem and the PLO criminals who ran the PA have been rendered useless, and since Hamas believes in what it says, there will be few if any back-door deals between the secular elites running Israel and Hamas. This explains the civil servant who has not been paid in 6 months. This is not an uncommon experience for Israeli civil servants either. It's the way things work in a country whose leaders do not give a damn about the people they pretend to represent, and whose resources are in the hands of 18 families and a few multinationals...
But that doesn't help either you or your workers, nor does it put food on their table.
I went to your site, and I'm guessing that you truck your goods out to Ashkelon or Ben-Gurion Airport - Aqaba would probably add too much money in costs, both in terms of transport and in terms of duty added. To my knowledge, Atarot Airport has fallen victim to terrorism and probably would be a great place for you and similar firms to export from.
It's a damned shame that visiting your firm seems to be an impossibility for me. My son learns not too far from where your factory is.
Hi Ruvy,
Thanks for that. I am not going to be referee in who-started-the-playground-fight. The simple fact is that many Palestinians have no jobs and that many that do have not been paid. That IDF soldiers disrupt ordinary people going about their ordinary business. That families are unable to travel to visit their families in neighbouring villages.
Just to correct two further things: First, the only restriction on your travel in the PA-administered West Bank is that imposed on you by Israeli law and the IDF. As far as I have seen, there is no danger to Jews or Israelis visiting the area from most Palestinians. Second, most of our products are shipped via Haifa, a small amount is sent via Ben Gurion.
Joe, I seriously doubt that Ruvy was referring to Israeli/IDF restrictions when he wrote, "That would likely be the last trip I'd make in my life..."
Does the name Yosi Avrahami ring any bells?
Yes, some IDF soldiers have been killed. But I have been in meetings in Bethlehem with Jewish civilians. It is not accurate to assume that you would be lynched.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/58524)
I think some of the things you say are wrong-headed, and I think your approach is not quite right, but you ARE looking at ways to increase the income of the average Arab.
That is very very positive...
One big problem in attempting to increase the income of the average Arab is that the Arab economy in Israel is dependent on the State of Israel, which you correctly pointed out, and the State of Israel is run by a pack of thieves who think in terms of exploiting Arabs for baksheesh, and who view Arab labor as a cheap substitute for Jewish labor. That stinks, but it is the truth. The second problem is that the "Palestinian Authority" is nothing but a mafia set up by a larger mafia in Jerusalem. So anybody who makes money in Arab towns and villages has to worry about extortive demands from the "government."
Of course your editors at the "Palestinian" magazines who pay you may not want to publish that truth...