Meet The NEW Open Air Prison: The West Bank!

Competition for Biggest Open-Air Prison In The Middle East must be heating up. Just ask Professor Ibrahim Abu Jaber

The West Bank has become a divided prison. In days before I could not believe the situation of Palestinian cities had become so hellish, so intolerable, these scattered prisons in a small, divided land. Now between settlements on the hills and strategic sites and the geographic network of connections to ensure easy passage between them, Palestinians must move using primitive methods across long distances.”

The good professor obviously doesn't get out much--and he apparently doesn't read the Travel Section of The New York Times either.

Ramallah Featured In The Travel Section Of The New York Times

There is a new image to Ramallah, one that has replaced the image of the Palestinian showing his blood-soaked hands to an approving crowd not so many years ago.

Why Not Switch Netanyahu And Abbas And Make Everyone Happy?

The West Bank apparently would not mind:

Israel is helping by getting rid of checkpoints, but there are still a great many complaints about how its forces keep placing new ones unexpectedly at sites from which they had been removed, and continue to enter Palestinian urban centers to make arrests - despite vigorous Palestinian Authority operations against every attempt by terrorist groups to organize themselves. The quality of life of the "average Palestinian resident" has improved dramatically, in comparison with past years. A Palestinian journalist said this week that the situation in the West Bank is not only better than in the past, but "terrific." [emphasis added]

Haaretz begrudgingly admits:

Look Who's Benefiting From The Global Economic Slump: Israel--And The West Bank (Updated)

I remember for years how the Israeli economy was a joke--how the currency was constantly being devalued, how converting your dollars into shekels provided you what seemed like a small fortune.

Things are different now.
Very different--today, the Israeli economy is no longer a joke.

A List Of Measures Israel Is Taking To Boost The West Bank Economy

The following is an article from the AIPAC website:

Israeli Measures in West Bank Boosting Economy

Israeli steps to improve travel and boost economic activity are having a significant impact on the economy of the West Bank. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the West Bank will grow at a seven percent rate this year amid one of the worst global recessions in decades. As the security situation in the West Bank has improved, Israel has removed nearly 150 roadblocks and checkpoints, including two dozen manned barriers, opened major crossings to spur trade and allowed significantly more Palestinian businessmen and workers to enter Israel. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell praised Israel's efforts, saying during his visit to Jerusalem this week that "Israel has taken meaningful steps in the West Bank."

Israel has taken major steps to improve the daily lives of Palestinians in the West Bank despite ongoing security risks.

• Israel has decreased the number of manned roadblocks within the West Bank by over 70 percent-from 35 to 10-in the last several months, dramatically enhancing freedom of movement and reducing travel time for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians despite real security risks.
  
  
• Palestinians can now travel throughout most of the northern West Bank without encountering security checks, including in Nablus, which is subject only to occasional security checks.
  
  
• In Ramallah, the main checkpoint north of the city is no longer permanently staffed. In Qalqiliya, Israel has completely dismantled one of the two major checkpoints maintaining access into the city, and the other is no longer permanently staffed.
  
  
• Israel also took a major step to increase business activity and improve the lives of Palestinians by opening the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank 24 hours a day to commercial traffic.
  
  
• Israel has dramatically increased access to Israel for key Palestinian businessmen and is boosting the number of Palestinians working inside Israel.
  
  
• The Israel Defense Forces is considering additional measures to boost the Palestinian economy and ease West Bank movement and access, including the removal of more than 100 dirt security barriers.
  
  
• In addition, the Israeli government has spearheaded a variety of economic development projects in the West Bank and limited military action in Palestinian cities.
  
  
• U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell praised Israel's efforts, saying during a recent visit to Jerusalem for meetings with top leaders that "Israel has taken meaningful steps in the West Bank."
  
  
• The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a recent report that "initial field observations indicate that these measures have significantly reduced the amount of time required for Palestinians to access these cities."
  
  
• While some, including the United States, have noted and applauded Israel's major bottom-up effort, Quartet envoy Tony Blair says Israel is receiving insufficient international credit for its work to stimulate the Palestinian economy.

The economy in the West Bank has improved amid a series of Israeli steps designed to spur business activity.

• The Israeli measures have helped dramatically improve the West Bank economy. Amid the worst global recession in decades, the IMF is forecasting a 7 percent growth rate for the area for 2009.
  
  
• Improved economic activity in the West Bank that began last year amid steps by the previous government is being further strengthened. In 2008, trade between Israel and the West Bank grew by more than 40 percent to more than $4 billion. The increase in trade was facilitated by improvements at major cargo crossings, which saw an 82 percent increase in truck crossings.
  
  
• In one of the worst global real estate markets in decades, Palestinians are planning to start building the first new Palestinian town in decades early next year, while a high-end home furnishings chain, Herbawi Home Furnishings, is investing tens of millions of dollars to open several stores.
  
  
• The greater loosening of travel restrictions for Israelis entering the West Bank has allowed thousands of Israeli Arabs to travel to Palestinian cities to shop and dine, significantly boosting the economy in Jericho, Jenin and Nablus. On Saturdays, more than 50 percent of the merchants' income in Nablus comes from Israeli Arabs, according to local businessmen.
  
  
• A doubling in foreign investment in West Bank infrastructure has created jobs and improved living conditions. The U.S. is spending tens of millions of dollars to upgrade nearly 20 roads, while Germany is providing more than $50 million in funding for sewage treatment plants.

The improved security situation in the West Bank is allowing Israel to take risks by easing security and travel restrictions.

• Israel is working closely with the United States and the PA to enhance the capabilities and effectiveness of security forces in the West Bank.
  
  
• In concert with U.S. Security Coordinator General Keith Dayton, Israel has supported the training of more than 3,000 Palestinian security personnel at a Jordanian training base.
  
  
• Israel's support for such high-level training of Palestinian security forces does not come without risk. During the height of Palestinian terrorism against Israel in the early 2000s, Palestinian security forces were heavily involved in attacks against Israeli civilians.
  
  
• Despite this risk, Israel has worked with Palestinian security officials to extend the hours Palestinian forces can operate in four key cities-Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Jericho. The forces now operate freely 24 hours a day to handle criminal activity and maintain order.
  
  
• Israel has facilitated the transfer of a substantial quantity of arms to the PA, including 900 rifles, one million bullets, and logistical equipment, including surveillance and communication gear. In the past, such equipment has been used in attacks against Israel.
  
  
• Israel has approved the establishment of 20 new Palestinian police stations in the West Bank, 19 of which have opened.

Technorati Tag: Israel and AIPAC and West Bank.

Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank Do Their Best Work When Abbas Sits and Does Nothing

"I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements..."
Mahmoud Abbas

In Pajamas Media, Michael Weiss writes that where attempts at political peace have continued to fail, it appears that Netanyahu's 'economic peace' is taking hold:

The International Monetary Fund has recently concluded that the West Bank’s economy has improved dramatically in the last year. Michael Oren, Israel’s newly-minted ambassador to the United States, recently pointed out in a Wall Street Journal editorial that six thousand new jobs have been created since 2008, trade with Israel has increased 82%, tourism to Bethlehem has increased 94%, and agricultural exports are up 200% — all the result of a fusion between smart Palestinian planning, the Netanyahu government’s relaxed trade policies, and its continued dismantling of military checkpoints.

In that article in the Wall Street Journal, Michael Oren gives other details, including that more than 2,000 new companies have been registered in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority since 2008. And the reason for the success?

Much of this revival is due to Palestinian initiative and to the responsible fiscal policies of West Bank leaders—such as Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad—many of whom are American-educated. But few of these improvements could have happened without a vastly improved security environment.

While Oren gives credit for the improvement in security to General Dayton's Palestinian security forces, the fact remains that Israeli steps first created the potential for security out of the chaos that is was(!?) the West Bank.

Oren also describes the difference between the political and economic pursuit of peace:

The West Bank's economic improvements contrast with the lack of diplomatic progress on the creation of a Palestinian state. Negotiators focus on the "top down" issues, grappling with legal and territorial problems. But the West Bank's population is building sovereignty from the bottom-up, forging the law-enforcement, civil, and financial institutions that form the underpinnings of any modern polity. The seeds of what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called "economic peace" are, in fact, already blossoming in the commercial skyline of Ramallah.

And don't forget that this is not the first time that the Palestinians have had the means and the opportunity to flourish during the past 60 years.

For instance, Efraim Karsh has written about the success of Palestinian Arabs before the Intifada:

The larger part, still untold in all its detail, is of the astounding social and economic progress made by the Palestinian Arabs under Israeli "oppression." At the inception of the occupation, conditions in the territories were quite dire. Life expectancy was low; malnutrition, infectious diseases, and child mortality were rife; and the level of education was very poor. Prior to the 1967 war, fewer than 60 percent of all male adults had been employed, with unemployment among refugees running as high as 83 percent. Within a brief period after the war, Israeli occupation had led to dramatic improvements in general well-being, placing the population of the territories ahead of most of their Arab neighbors.

...During the 1970's, the West Bank and Gaza constituted the fourth fastest-growing economy in the world-ahead of such "wonders" as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea, and substantially ahead of Israel itself. [emphasis added]

CAMERA also notes that:

the Palestinian territories had one of the ten fastest growing economies during the 1970's, just behind Saudi Arabia (which benefitted from the oil shock of 1973), and ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea. (World Bank, ratio of real per capita GNP in 1980 to real per capita GNP in 1970)

This is not based on idle speculation either. It is backed up by the publication by The World Bank: Developing the Occupied Territories: An Investment in Peace

Despite the Intifada, during the 1990's, things were looking up again. Check out this article from March 1995, Soon The Gaza Strip Will Be Competing With Singapore, all about

the industrial parks which the leadership of the [Israeli] Foreign, Industry and Finance Ministries is planning at this very moment, under total secrecy. The goal: to establish between 8 to 11 such parks on the cease-fire line between Israel and the autonomous areas, which the Palestinian Authority will control within the next few months.

Foreign Minister Shimon Peres is the one who envisioned all this, and those close to him say with pride: We are getting closer to Singapore, Taiwan and Hong-Kong, in huge steps.

And then, after the vision arrives to develop the cities Gaza, Dir Al- Balah, Ofakim and Sderot it will be copied in the cease-fire line between Afula and Jenin, to Mt. Hebron and Tul-Karm, and will reach the entrance of Kochav Yair.

Each industrial park will be established for about 10,000 employees, and will sit on 2,000 dunam of land, with considerable financial assistance from foreign investors and also governmental subsidies. The Palestinians will run them, and be its workers, for the most part.

The difference between what was possible then and what Gaza suffers from now under the Hamas terrorists is stark--and the difference today between Gaza and the West Bank will not be lost on the Palestinian Arabs suffering under Hamas rule. After all, there are just so many times that Hamas can blame Israel for its failures--especially when Israel is creating the possibility for the West Bank's successes.

Oren writes:

The vitality of the West Bank also accentuates the backwardness and despair prevailing in Gaza. In place of economic initiatives that might relieve the nearly 40% unemployment in the Gaza Strip, the radical Hamas government has imposed draconian controls subject to Shariah law. Instead of investing in new shopping centers and restaurants, Hamas has spent millions of dollars restocking its supply of rockets and mortar shells. Rather than forge a framework for peace, Hamas has wrought war and brought economic hardship to civilians on both sides of the borders.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank there is perhaps a growing realization that Netanyahu's 'economic peace' may be succeeding where others--including Obama--have failed:

Fayyad told Haaretz this month that he realized that “security was the glue between a thriving economy and proper government and achieving liberty for the Palestinian people.” (On the question of whether or not Israel is a “Jewish state” — an admission Netanyahu has been adamant about getting from the Palestinians and which he has hitherto been denied officially — Fayyad sounded more Zionist-friendly than the New York Review of Books typically is: “The character of Israel, as the total character that Israel would like to have, is Israel’s own choice.”)

Back in May, Abbas said in his interview with Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post:

"I will wait for Hamas to accept international commitments. I will wait for Israel to freeze settlements," he said. "Until then, in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." In the Obama administration, so far, it's easy being Palestinian.

Abbas will continue waiting, assuming that everything he wants will fall into his hands. However, if it is not Israeli concessions but rather Israeli contributions to the reemerging Palestinian that make the news, Abbas will find that the Palestinian Arabs of the West Bank are growing tired of waiting for him.

On a cautionary note, George Gilder writes in The Israel Test that historically foreign aid intended for economic recovery is conducive to corruption and failure, rather than economic growth. When I emailed him about the apparent challenge that the West Bank poses to that rule, he responded:

Hey, when you have a 40 to 60 percent drop in output in the midst of violence, it is relatively easy to get a rebound when calm returns and you have Netanyahu both standing firm against more concessions to terrorists and declaring his determination to open new opportunities for enterprise in the territories.

If Netanyahu's broad based economic recovery for the Palestinian Arabs is successful--and Gilder is a big admirer of Netanyahu's economic know-how--then maybe this time around the apparent Palestinian economic renaissance will be permanent, and auger better times to come in the region.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Abbas and Netanyahu and George Gilder and West Bank.

Netanyahu's Stress On Economic Peace Plan Being Validated In West Bank

Earlier this month, talk about Netanyahu's Economic Peace Plan--the idea that upgrading the Palestinian economy takes precedence over talk of a second Palestinian state--was decidedly negative:

Prior to the elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his program for "economic peace," which he said would improved the quality of life for Palestinians in the West Bank. However, 100 days after having formed his coalition government, there is no practical progress on economic projects.

The main reason for this is the refusal of senior Palestinian Authority officials to cooperate with Netanyahu and Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, who has been assigned the task of promoting the "economic peace" initiative.

Yet, according to an article in yesterday's New York Times, the West Bank economy is experiences an amazing turnaround:

“You don’t appreciate the value of law and order until you lose it,” Rashid al-Sakhel, the owner of a carpet store, said as he stood in his doorway surveying the small wonder of bustling streets on a sunny morning. “For the past eight years, a 10-year-old boy could order a strike and we would all close. Now nobody can threaten us.”

For the first time since the second Palestinian uprising broke out in late 2000, leading to terrorist bombings and fierce Israeli countermeasures, a sense of personal security and economic potential is spreading across the West Bank as the Palestinian Authority’s security forces enter their second year of consolidating order.

The International Monetary Fund is about to issue its first upbeat report in years for the West Bank, forecasting a 7 percent growth rate for 2009. Car sales in 2008 were double those of 2007. Construction on the first new Palestinian town in decades, for 40,000, will begin early next year north of Ramallah. In Jenin, a seven-story store called Herbawi Home Furnishings has opened, containing the latest espresso machines. Two weeks ago, the Israeli military shut its obtrusive nine-year-old checkpoint at the entrance to this city, part of a series of reductions in security measures.

This is something that was already evident last year, and has clearly been progressing this year. And the best part of the economic turnaround is that it is leading to a political turnaround as well:

Whether all this can last and lead to the consolidation of political power for the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah, as the Obama administration hopes, remains unclear. But a recent opinion poll in the West Bank and Gaza by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, a Palestinian news agency, found that Fatah was seen as far more trustworthy than Hamas — 35 percent versus 19 percent — a significant shift from the organization’s poll in January, when Hamas appeared to be at least as trustworthy.

“Two years ago I couldn’t have even gone to Nablus,” said Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who serves as international envoy to the Palestinians, after a smooth visit this week. “Security is greatly improved, and the economy is doing much better. Now we need to move to the next stage: politics.”

The aim of American and European policy is to stitch Palestinian politics back together by strengthening the Palestinian Authority under the presidency of Mahmoud Abbas, which favors a two-state solution with Israel, while weakening the Islamists of Hamas, who rule in Gaza. Fatah says it will hold its first general congress in 20 years in early August to build on its successes, but it remains unclear if the meeting will take place.

As important as the turnaround of Fatah vis-a-vis Hamas may be, equally important is the claim made in the article that both the US and Europe want not only to strengthen Fatah, but also to weaken Hamas as well--that seems to go against indications that both the US and Europe were interested not only in opening dialog with Hamas, but also to waive the '3 preconditions': recognizing Israel, stopping terrorist attacks, and honoring past agreements. If the renewed West Bank economy and the rise in Fatah's fortunes lead to the isolation of Hamas on the international scene, that would be an added benefit.

The reason for the entire turnaround goes back to the basics in dealing with Palestinian terrorism:

Asked to explain why the West Bank’s fortunes were shifting, a top Israeli general began his narrative with a chart showing 410 Israelis killed by Palestinians in 2002, and 4 in 2008.

“We destroyed the terrorist groups through three things — intelligence, the barrier and freedom of action by our men,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with military rules. “We sent our troops into every marketplace and every house, staying tightly focused on getting the bad guys.”

This is a validation of something that was said in 2001 by then British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw about comparing negotiations with the IRA and with the Palestinian Arabs:

of course, negotiations far, far better, not (ph) infinitely better, than military action.

As far as Northern Ireland is concerned, we welcome hugely the progress has been made following the Good Friday Agreement.

It also has to be said that, before that happened, there had to be a change of approach by those who saw terrorism at the answer. And that approach partly changed because of the firmness of the military and police response to that terrorism. And if there had not been that firm response by successive British governments and others to the terrorist threat that was posed on both sides, we would not have been able to get some of those people into negotiation, and we'd not be marking what is a satisfactory day in the history of Northern Ireland today.

If the West Bank really does experience an economic and cultural revival, it will be because Israel defeated the Intifada and suicide bombers and the thinking that went along with it--because the West surely hasn't.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Israel and West Bank.

Ramallah And Jenin: Formerly Terrorist Strongholds--Now Developing Economic And Cultural Centers

In Bombs in Gaza, Parties in Ramallah, Rinat Malkes wrote last summer about the amazing turnaround in Ramallah:

While the Palestinian political world remains in turmoil, the West Bank still struggles for normality — and achieves it, but only selectively. While northern West Bank cities like Nablus and Jenin remain tense, in the heart of Palestine the city of Ramallah seems more effervescent than ever — full of tourists, crowded coffee shops, and active daily life even as the headlines spell trouble; it is as if the city is in a strange quiet before a storm.

The violent escalation over the past week may challenge Palestinian and Israeli analysts who are currently asking themselves whether the situation can deteriorate even more, but the news doesn’t seem to bother Ramallah’s citizens. Many new and trendy Western-style coffee shops and restaurants have opened this summer, tourists came back to the streets around al-Manara Square, and despite the price index high of 10.20% during the first quarter of the year, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, commerce is buzzing.

It’s easy to notice a huge variety of languages, cultures, and Western faces among the crowded tables of Cafe de la Paix, next to Ramallah’s city hall. Pilgrims, foreign NGOs’ personnel, journalists, and Palestinians from other West Bank cities have found a perfect place to spend some quality leisure time. [emphasis added]

Read the whole thing.

Now, a year later, it seems that Jenin is catching up:

The skies lit up over Jenin last month, and it wasn't tracer bullets or flash bombs but celebratory fireworks, set off to mark the occasion of the opening of Hirbawi Home Center, a new luxury establishment on the city's outskirts.

The five-story building near the Jalame checkpoint cost $5 million to build, says its owner, and it is filled with deluxe, foreign-made products seen mostly in the pages of newspaper supplements.

This shopping opportunity is intended to interest the upper crust of Jenin, and while some might think the proposition suggests financial suicide, the profit forecasts for the project have been so favorable the owner plans to open four more shops in the West Bank and one in Jordan.

Considering the commonly accepted image of the West Bank, one would assume that there is no demand for the luxury items that Hirbawi Home Center is offering--but the truth is that the demand for those luxuries exists and so do the means of acquiring them.

This may not sound like the familiar description of the occupied territories - the impoverished Palestinian village or the overcrowded refugee camp, a population sustaining itself on international aid. But it turns out that quite a few Palestinians consider a plasma screen, a surround sound stereo and comfortable chairs to be fairly essential items.

Here, on the fifth floor of the Jenin operation, overlooking the fields separating Israel from Jenin, are the in-demand electric gadgets: enormous TV screens, vacuum cleaners, espresso machines, and the list goes on and on. [CEO Ziad] Turabi points out that some products are only available in Home Center shops. "This is an espresso machine that grinds the coffee beans," he says. "People want more and more of these products. They ask for the finest quality." Most of the products on sale are imported through the port of Ashdod. "We have exclusive deals with quite a few brands," says Turabi. "They'll only market their products at Home Center."

..."We've been working for a few months now and every day had been like opening day. We are very pleased, and the profits have been very satisfying so far. Don't worry, we're not going to lose, and we truly believe that. It's true that Jenin is like a big village and wealthy people here are few. Everyone told us to start off with Ramallah. But I came here a few months ago and ran some profit estimates."

Read the whole thing.

The face of the West Bank is changing--albeit very slowly, and with lots of external help. The West Bank still does not have the infrastructure to exist as an independent state, but it is not the impoverished and overpopulated hellhole that Palestinian apologists claim.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Jenin and Ramallah.

"Bombs in Gaza, Parties in Ramallah"

That's the title of an article by Rinat Malkes for Pajamas Media, and the parties in Ramallah are not celebrating death--they're celebrating life:

...While the Palestinian political world remains in turmoil, the West Bank still struggles for normality — and achieves it, but only selectively. While northern West Bank cities like Nablus and Jenin remain tense, in the heart of Palestine the city of Ramallah seems more effervescent than ever — full of tourists, crowded coffee shops, and active daily life even as the headlines spell trouble; it is as if the city is in a strange quiet before a storm.

The violent escalation over the past week may challenge Palestinian and Israeli analysts who are currently asking themselves whether the situation can deteriorate even more, but the news doesn’t seem to bother Ramallah’s citizens. Many new and trendy Western-style coffee shops and restaurants have opened this summer, tourists came back to the streets around al-Manara Square, and despite the price index high of 10.20% during the first quarter of the year, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, commerce is buzzing.

It’s easy to notice a huge variety of languages, cultures, and Western faces among the crowded tables of Cafe de la Paix, next to Ramallah’s city hall. Pilgrims, foreign NGOs’ personnel, journalists, and Palestinians from other West Bank cities have found a perfect place to spend some quality leisure time. The peace is broken only when nearby mosques play the muazzin calls for prayers.

Palestinian analyst and businessman Sam Bahou says the city is definitely going through a “five-star occupation,” pushed by the resumption of hundreds of millions of dollars received by the Palestinian Authority by international donors. Besides that, the recent high oil prices have created additional revenues for oil-rich countries like Qatar and other Gulf nations, which are investing: music festivals and other cultural activities haven’t been so lively in the past few years, says Mohammad B, a shop owner.

“I know it sounds like a cheap cliché, but trust me, it’s true. Life here can be good and we are working to make it a better place. Even though there’s no extra money in the Palestinians’ pockets, at least in Ramallah we still can have some fun, go out for a good dinner, watch a movie. If it depended on politics and politicians, we would sit at home in deep depression. We have to improve our lives ourselves. We can’t stand this political impasse anymore, so trying to have a normal life is kind of an obligation. We have fun, move forward, and forget the official mud we are immersed in. If we can’t go to Manhattan, we at least decided to bring a bit of Manhattan here,” he laughs.

Read the whole thing.

I blogged earlier this week about how contrary to the West that insisted on pouring more millions into the Palestinian Authority to no effect, the Arab countries knew better and have resisted giving money to the PA that they have previously promised. Now it seems that the Arab countries are even smarter than that--they have approached the situation as capitalists, investing in the people instead of squandering it on the leaders.

In the earlier post I concluded: "The Arab world knows what they are not doing."
I was wrong--the Arab world knows exactly what they are doing.
Let the Arab world invest in the Palestinian people even more (and even less to the terrorists).

Update: Meanwhile, the US still does not get it:

The United States remains the largest single state donor to the Palestinian Authority. We have provided $562 million in total assistance in 2008, surpassing our pledged level of $555 million. This includes $264 million in project assistance through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL); $150 million in direct budget support - the largest single tranche for funds provided to the Palestinian Authority by a single donor country; and $148 million in contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

And what do they have to show for it.

Technorati Tag: Palestinians and Ramallah.