US cuts off funding to Palestinian Authority security forces

(February 13) The US Trump administration has dealt another blow to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA) as it introduces more budget cuts to the group, this time to the PA security forces.

US has long supported the Palestinian Security Services

When the US State Department released the budget request for 2021 missing from the requests was funding for the Palestinian Security Services. This funding has received bipartisan support for the last 27 years. In 2019 the US provided an estimated $35 million to fund the security services.

Since Trump took office the US has steadily cut humanitarian and economic aid to the Palestinians. As a result the Palestinian Authority and other groups such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). have suffered deep financial crises.

Last year, the Congress had rejected the State Dept's 2020 request for $175 million in funds for the Diplomatic Progress Fund. Instead the Congress opted to restore $150 million in Palestinian aid and that had included $75 million in security assistance.

Some funds available if Palestinians accept US peace plan

Even though there are no unconditional or explicit funds for the Palestinian security forces in the budget request, there is a request for $200 million for a Diplomatic Progress Fund, that the US government can use with flexibility to “respond to new opportunities arising from progress in diplomatic and peace efforts around the world…such as progress on a plan for Middle East peace.” Within those funds is $25 million designated towards security assistance in the West Bank. However it is understood that access to those funds is contingent upon the Palestinians accepting the Trump peace plan that has already been categorically rejected by the Palestinians and the PA. It seems that the Palestinians are correct when they claim that the US is using political blackmail to force Palestinians to give in to their demands.

Israel supports the US funding of Palestinian Security Forces

Israel as well as the US have both long supported the funding of the Palestinian Security Services as a means of maintaining stability and order in the occupied West Bank. Israel considers the forces help protect their security interests. Trump's nixing of funds for the Palestinian Security Forces came as a surprise to many. However, it has been reported that Trump rejected a request to continue funding from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu last November

For years security coordination between the PA and Israel has been an essential part of Israel's security arrangements. Recently, Mahmoud Abbas, PA president, has threatened to break off security coordination if Israel moves ahead with annexation plans.

Israel has been working to make Israel less dependent upon PA Security Forces.

Israel using advanced technology to replace PA security

Diana Buttu, a political analyst based in Ramallah said she was not surprised by the news of the budget cut. Buttu claimed that Israel really did not need the PA any longer for security coordination.

Buttu said: “If you look at the way Israel operates today, a lot of it is being done by their own technological mechanisms. Everything from new IDs with magnetic chips for Palestinians, gates at the entrances to Palestinian areas that be can closed electronically, and facial recognition technology at checkpoints...The occupation is very much operating by remote control, they don’t need the PA any longer."

However Buttu said that the EU and other donor countries will probably step up funding as the forces help provide regional stability and the PA security services are a major employer of Palestinians. However, this may mean less funding for other services such as education and health care. Buttu notes that the PA spends more money on security than it does on education and healthcare combined.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Israel to build 770 new housing units in east Jerusalem area

Israel's Jerusalem Municipality local planning and construction committee has presented the plans for 770 new settlement housing units according to an Israeli news website.

According to Albawaba:

The new units will be considered by Israel as part of the Jerusalem district, and will be built between the illegal Gilo settlement and the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, accross from the Cremisan monastrey in the Bethlehem district of the occupied West Bank.East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel some time ago, which considers the area part of Israel even though it is not recognized internationally as such. Israel had previously approved 1,200 housing units to be built in the area and the plans for 770 of them have now been presented. Excavations and other preparations for the building are already under way.

The head of the municipal planning and construction committee, Meir Turgeman, paid no attention to international condemnation of this settlement activity regarded internationally as illegal. Turgeman said that whatever happens politically, construction will continue both in East Jerusalem and across the West Bank. Yusif al-Mahmud, spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority, condemned the announcement and what he called Israeli arrogance in establishing illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank He claimed the move would increase tensions, including violence towards civilians, collective punishment, and raids.

The United States also condemned the new building plans as provocative and said that the move would undermine any prospect of peace with the Palestinians. State Department spokesperson John Kirby — not John Kerry — said:“We are deeply concerned by reports today that the government of Israel has published tenders for 323 units in east Jerusalem settlements. This follows Monday’s announcement of plans for 770 units in the settlement of Gilo.These steps by Israeli authorities are the latest examples of what appears to be a steady acceleration of settlement activity that is systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution."He continued, saying Israel continues a pattern of "provocative and counterproductive action" and in doing so raises serious doubts about whether Israel is committed to a peaceful and negotiated solution with the Palestinians. The UN also condemned the building of the new units.

As the settlements are built upon land the Palestinians claim as their own, the settlements are a serious obstacle to any peace deal. As a recent report from the diplomatic quarter, the US, EU, Russia and the UN claims, settlement expansion was eroding any chance of a two-state solution to the conflict.

The settlement expansion is accompanied by the demolition of Palestinian homes. It is exceedingly difficult for Palestinians to get permits to build and hence many houses do not have permits. They can simply be declared illegal by Israeli authorities and demolished. According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, Israel demolished more Palestinian homes in the West Bank during the last seven months than in any other year in the last decade. Kirby remarked on the issue which leaves dozens of Palestinians homeless:

“More than 650 Palestinian structures have been demolished this year, with more Palestinian structures demolished in the West Bank and east Jerusalem thus far than in all of 2015. As the recent Quartet Report highlighted, this is part of an ongoing process of land seizures, settlement expansion, legalization of outposts, and denial of Palestinian development that risk entrenching a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict.”

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem. A recent document discussed by Haaretz shows that the first settlement was built upon a lie. Peace negotiations have been at a standstill since April of 2014.

Israel demolishes 41 Palestinian buildings in West Bank village

Israel demolished 41 structures in Khirbet Tana on the outskirts of Nablus city in the West Bank. Structures destroyed include an elementary school.

The current demolition is one of the largest on record since 2009. Ten families were displaced with a total of 36 members including 11 children, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for occupied Palestinian Territory. Khirbet Tana is a community of about 250 people most of whom rely on herding and agriculture for their livelihood. Much of the infrastructure of the community is now demolished. As well as an elementary school, 11 homes were destroyed, five common bathrooms, one kitchen and 18 farming structures. A solar system and two communal ovens were also demolished. Twelve of the structures destroyed belonged to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Red Crescent. The buildings were demolished because they all lacked an Israeli-issued building permit. Khirbet Tana is located in a closed military zone. Palestinians are repeatedly denied building permits since Khirbet Tana is close to an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) firing zone.

The UN claims around 18 percent of the West Bank is considered to be "firing zones." In such areas structures continue to be built and regularly taken down again. OCHA said: “Since the beginning of 2016, the Israeli forces have destroyed or dismantled 323 homes and other structures across the West Bank... displacing almost 440 Palestinians.” Of those structures, 108 were provided as humanitarian assistance to families in need.

Robert Piper, Coordinator for Humanitarian and UN Development Activities for the occupied territories said:

“International law is clear – Palestinians in the West Bank have the right to adequate housing and the right to receive humanitarian assistance. As the occupying power, Israel is obliged to respect these rights.”

Another Palestinian home was razed recently in East Jerusalem as is described in Haaretz. The report notes this is the first time in eight months there has been such a demolition and it ended an unofficial freeze of these demolitions that are internationally condemned. However, there have been demolitions in area E1 of the West Bank as reported in Al Jazeera in January. The home was in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Standing outside her demolished dwelling Linda al-Rajabi shared with her husband and five children said: "They can build hundreds of settlements but I'm not entitled to live in a shack?" Israel's Jerusalem municipality said the home was built without a city permit.

Washington has publicly urged Israel not to demolish homes built without permits. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of Palestine but the Israelis regard it as part of Israel. Palestinians maintain that it is impossible to obtain construction approval from Israeli authorities. In response to the demolition a US official said:"The United States has made clear that it disagrees with some Government of Israel actions in Jerusalem that affect Palestinians in areas such as housing, including home demolitions, and has urged all parties to avoid actions that could undermine trust. "This underscores the need for a permanent status agreement that resolves all outstanding issues between the parties, including Jerusalem, and which results in a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."As well as the inhabited house, the Israelis demolished two unfinished Palestinian homes and part of a factory also in East Jerusalem.

Israel withholds tax funds collected for Palestine

Israel has frozen Palestinian tax funds, withholding transfer of $127 million, in a move that is in retaliation for Palestine's decision to join the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli daily Haaretz cited an anonymous Israeli official who said that the $127 million in funds are VAT and customs duties on goods destined for Palestinian territories collected by Israel. The official said: "The funds for the month of December were due to pass on Friday, but it was decided to half the transfer as part of the response to the Palestinian move." The Palestinians submitted documents to the UN in New York applying for membership in the ICC on Friday.

 Prior to the vote on a Palestinian resolution to the UN Security Council sponsored by Jordan, the Palestinian Authority had threatened to go forward with the application to join the court if the resolution failed. It did, as discussed on the appended video. The Palestinians want to level war crimes charges against Israel as well as challenge the legality of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It will take at least 60 days before the membership application could result in membership.

 Saeb Erekat. of the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) claims that the Israeli retaliation shows that it is frightened by the application: "Israel collects our customs and our taxes for us, so when they withhold these funds, it means that this month people will not be able to pay for their schools, hospitals, medical supplies, milk and bread..They [Israelis] are trying to suffocate the whole [Palestinian] nation.It shows that when it comes to enforcing collective punishment, they are punishing four million Palestinians, starving them, because they want to act with impunity.This shows the legitimacy of what we are doing at the ICC." Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas is under pressure to show that he is taking action to advance the Palestinian cause after the failure of peace talks and of a recent resolution defeated in the UN Security Council. Israel has deferred tax payments previously in November of 2012 when Palestine gained recognition at the UN as a non-member state. It also deferred payments even earlier in 2011 in May when Fatah and Hamas announced a reconciliation deal, and again in November when Palestine was admitted to UNESCO.

 The tax revenues withheld represent two thirds of the PA budget when you exclude foreign aid. Neither Israel nor the U.S. belong to the ICC. Though both have signed, on both also have indicated that they do not intend to follow up by ratifying the agreement. While opposition to the court was stronger during the Bush administration than under Obama, the U.S. does not appear ready to join: The Bush administration, coming into office in 2001 as the Court neared implementation, adopted an extremely active opposition. Washington began to negotiate bilateral agreements with other countries, insuring immunity of US nationals from prosecution by the Court. As leverage, Washington threatened termination of economic aid, withdrawal of military assistance, and other painful measures. The Obama administration has so far made greater efforts to engage with the Court. It is participating with the Court's governing bodies and it is providing support for the Court's ongoing prosecutions. Washington, however, has no intention to join the ICC, due to its concern about possible charges against US nationals.

 The U.S. has also expressed strong opposition to the Palestinian move to join the ICC. The U.S. also indicated that the move could have implications for U.S. aid to Palestine a senior U.S. official: "It should come as no surprise that there will be implications for this step, but we continue to review," the official told Reuters. U.S. economic support to Palestine amounts to about $400 million each year. Under U.S. laws, if the Palestinians use their ICC membership to press any claims against Israel the aid will be cut off. Israel may possibly attempt to prosecute Palestinian officials for war crimes in the US and elsewhere using pro-Israel NGOs to file lawsuits. Since the reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah in a unity deal completed last April, Israel now sees the PA who run the West Bank as partners with a terrorist organization Hamas. The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Palestinian leaders that any unilateral moves they made could lead to prosecution for their support of Hamas.

US, Israel, Canada and Australia try to block meeting on conditions in Gaza, East Jerusalem and West Bank

A number of countries including the U.S., Israel, Canada, and Australia are trying to dissuade Switzerland from hosting a special session in mid-December on conditions in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

The Fourth Geneva Convention adopted in 1949 deals with protection of civilians in areas of armed conflict or under occupation by a military force. The treaty forbids harming any persons not involved in conflict including not only civilians but captured soldiers. During a prolonged occupation as in the West Bank the occupying power must uphold the human rights of civilians in the occupied territory.
The Israeli settlements could be regarded as violating the Convention: The treaty also forbids any and all movement of civilian population from within the borders of the occupying power into the areas under military rule – such as the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At present the are 196 countries who have signed on to the Convention. As well as the settlement issue Israel no doubt violates other aspects of the Convention including punishment involving those not guilty of a crime as when families of those committed of a crime have their houses destroyed: " Reprisals against persons and their property are prohibited.No persons may be punished for an offense he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."
The Swiss government is under pressure from Palestinians and Arab countries to hold the conference. The Swiss are attempting to make the conference short and low key to try to mitigate the objections coming from some countries. After the failure of peace talks with the Israelis and their expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, signed on to 15 international conventions in the name of Palestine with one being the Fourth Geneva Convention. Only weeks later, the Palestinians together with the Arab League requested Switzerland to convene a meeting that would discuss " the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the damage Israel caused civilians in Gaza."
There have been four attempts to convene meetings under the Fourth Convention, all to discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In 2001, with the outbreak of second intifada there was a conference but Israel and the US refused to attend. In 2009 after Operation Cast Lead, countries opposed to a meeting were able to block it. The Swiss are reluctant to call the conference on their own so they are consulting other states to determine if there is sufficient support to hold the conference.
 The Swiss are proposing just a three hour meeting at the ambassadorial level. The only media coverage would be a statement at he end of the conference. One Swiss diplomat maintained: “We made it clear we didn’t want a political event or debate club, or a conference that would blame or criticize one of the sides." Despite the low profile Israel strongly objects to holding the conference at all. An updated draft of the conference showed that Israel will be mentioned by name unlike an earlier draft and the West Bank settlements are specifically mentioned. Both the United States and Canada have said that they would boycott the conference if it is actually held. Israel is hard at work trying to convince other countries to boycott the conference as well.
However, with Palestinians and the Arab League pushing for the conference it is expected that Swiss authorities will announce when it will be held within a few days. Although Israel signed the convention, it has never been legislated as part of Israeli law. Israel also claims that the treaty does not apply to the West Bank or East Jerusalem since it does not regard these areas as under occupation. This allows Israel to claim that the settlements are not violations of the treaty.

Abbas' anti-Israel rhetoric annoys the US and Israel

The US expressed annoyance at the UN speech of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas accused Israel of carrying out acts of genocide during the recent Operation Protective Edge.

Abbas also accused Israel of planning another "Nakba" or "disaster" referring to events before and after Israeli independence: During the 1948 Palestine War, an estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled, and hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were depopulated and destroyed.[2][3] Abbas termed the latest round of conflict in the Gaza strip "a series of absolute war crimes carried out before the eyes and ears of the entire world, moment by moment" and claimed that the devastation was unmatched in modern times. Abbas also accused Israel of undermining any chances for peace during the earlier 9 months of negotiations as well as consistently trying to "fragment our land and our unity." While Israel may very well be guilty of war crimes, Abbas' use of the term "genocide" is hardly accurate.
 Israel has been upset not only by Abbas' rhetoric but by the formation of a unity government with Hamas regarded by both the US and Israel as a terrorist organization. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quite critical of Abbas and suggested he could not be a partner in future peace talks:"Abu Mazen's (Abbas') words at the UN General Assembly sharply clarify again that Abu Mazen doesn't want and can't be a logical partner for a political settlement. Abbas isn't a member of joint government with Hamas for no reason." Senior officials in Israeli Prime Minister's Benjamin Netanyahu's office also denounced the speech.
The US joined the chorus of criticism with State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, saying: "President Abbas' speech today included offensive characterizations that were deeply disappointing and which we reject. Such provocative statements are counterproductive and undermine efforts to create a positive atmosphere and restore trust between the parties." Abbas' rhetoric may be designed to show his constituency that he is tough on Israel. Abbas has lost support while Hamas has gained it by standing up to Israel in spite of the devastation wreaked upon the Gaza Strip because of Hamas' continued resistance and firing of rockets into Israel.
Abbas may be strong in his rhetoric but failed to follow through with actions. He did not say anything about joining the International Criminal Courts. His aides have often said he is prepared to do so, an action that would irritate the Israelis. Abbas said:"We will not forget and we will not forgive, and we will not allow war criminals to escape punishment." Abbas failed to indicate how this was to be accomplished and said nothing about taking the issue to the International Criminal Court.
 Abbas' aides also claimed that Abbas would press for a new UN Security Council resolution that would set a three year schedule for Israel to withdraw from all Palestinian territories captured during the 1967 war. The aides said as well that if the UN did not accept the resolution Abbas would seek membership in more international agencies including the International Criminal Court. Abbas could bring to the court not only the war crimes issue but also Israeli construction of settlements in the West Bank that the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
  Hamas and the Palestinian Authority(PA) have reportedly negotiated a "comprehensive" agreement that will see officials of a unity government take over the civil administration of Gaza. The unity government is led by President Abbas. Both groups hope that this agreement will pave the way for easing of the Gaza blockade imposed by Israel with the help of Egypt.
 A recent study by the Palestinian Authority estimates costs of reconstruction in Gaza to be $7.8 billion. Under the agreement, the PA will take control of the border crossings of the Gaza Strip including the key Rafah crossing into Egypt. Abdel al-Sisi the Egyptian president had demanded that the PA and not Hamas control the crossing. The agreement will end Hamas' seven year long sole rule of Gaza after it won elections in 2006. The agreement comes after complaints by each side about the other including Hamas' anger at the PA refusal to pay the salaries of 45,000 civic employees in Gaza. If the new agreement holds and the new government operates smoothly this will be a giant step forward in resolving the constant bickering between Hamas and the PA that continually threatens Palestinian unity and prevents a common front in negotiations with Israel.