Mid-East Realitieswww.middleeast.org

PALESTINIAN ELITE AND PA OFFICIALS FLEEING

September 7, 2001

Palestinian Masses Left More and More On Their Own

MID-EAST REALITIES © - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 9/07: Israel is paying a price -- and this is not a reference to economics. But even so the price being paid by the Palestinians is immensely greater.

Israel continues to create facts on the ground that as in the past will determine the foreseeable future. More settlements, more "aliyah" (Jewish imigration to Israel from abroad), more military advances, and now more fences and barricades to further divide and imprison the Palestinian population within the overall military occupation. True, Israel is suffering, especially in terms of international reputation. But this has happened before, and each time the Israelis have managed to repair the damage through intensive media warfare, public relations blitzes, and diplomatic chicanery. The Palestinians on the other hand continue speaking mostly to themselves and have yet to develop any powerful network of capable allies; not to mention how badly co-opted, corrupt, and incompetent are the "client regimes" and "client organizations" who have so terribly failed them for so long.

And now we find that a further fracturing of the Palestinian population is taking place. The masses are being divided and imprisoned behind actual and legal fences; while the VIPs and Elites are continue to send their money, and in many cases their families, out of the country. This too is a major Israeli victory and it still could yet lead to the long-time Revionist Zionist goal of eventually transforming Jordan into the Palestinian State and declaring the conflict resolved, like it or not!

The following excerpt is from a brief and unusual article in the Palestinian publication Al-Hayat al-Jadida" -- title: "THE LEADERSHIP IS CORRUPT": "We continue to bring out all the embarrassments and crimes in our midst... Senior figures in the Palestinian Authority are leaving the homeland, leaving the area that is their responsibility without permission from above, without informing a soul and for no reason related to their tasks. They are leaving because of their own personal interests or fears, and sometimes they also use despicable excuses. If the individual who is responsible for control and monitoring were to print out from the computers at border terminals the number of departures and days absent from the homeland in one year, then since the beginning of the intifada, the figures - backed by signatures and dates - would be distressing. Many go away, leave their jobs, among them director-generals, aides and members of parliament. And if anyone asks where they are going to, the answer is also distressing: to their homes and families... People will serve the ruling authority as long as it is made up of responsible and respected people who inspire awe - isn't there a limit to tolerance and forgiveness?"

And these article from Middle East Newsline and from Voice of America News. And by the way, the Jordanians aren't helping the Palestinians - they are only letting in the very rich and well-connected, everyone else they have closed the border to. After all, this is the same Hashemite regime that not that long ago was welcoming Ariel Sharon to Amman and Aqaba, and which even held a secret dinner for former heads of the Mossad in the Royal Palace in Amman shortly after the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty!

PALESTINIAN ELITES FLEE TO JORDAN
AMMAN — Jordan has acknowledged the influx of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank over the last eight months.

Jordanian officials said nearly 200,000 Palestinians entered the Hashemite kingdom from the West Bank over the spring and summer and never returned. They said the Palestinians have been seeking long-term visas to remain indefinitely in the kingdom.

The Palestinians include much of the elite in the West Bank as well as families of Palestinian Authority officials. The officials said they are uncertain over whether this marks policy by PA Chairman Yasser Arafat.

So far, Jordanian leaders have not publicly complained about the Palestinian influx. But King Abdullah is said to have raised this issue with Arafat and has stressed that he will not allow the Palestinians to make Jordan an alternative homeland.

For his part, Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb has denied that Palestinians from the West Bank have remained in the kingdom. He said about 180,000 West Bankers entered Jordan so far this year. All but 5,000 have since returned.

"Jordan is a state founded on solid grounds with its institutions and leadership," Abu Ghareb said. "God willing, the Palestinian state will rise on Palestinian soil while Jordan is and will remain the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan."

At the same time, the prime minister said Jordan will not allow the transfer of Palestinians to the kingdom. Abu Ragheb blamed Israel for the concerns expressed in Jordan. [MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE - Thursday, 6 Sept 2001]

UN REPORT: PALESTINIAN ECONOMY IN SHAMBLES
By Ross Dunn

[Washington, Voice of America News, Friday, September 07 2001]: U.N. Special Representative to the Middle East Terje Larsen has issued a report showing the devastating impact of Israel's closures on the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Mr. Larsen says that the measures have brought great suffering upon Palestinians, while at the same failing in their aim to bolster Israel's security.

The United Nations says that the Palestinian uprising that began nearly one-year ago has been characterized by an unprecedented level of confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians.

In reaction to the violence, Israel has imposed tight restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of the West Bank.

A report issued by the office of Terje Larsen, the U.N. Special Coordinator to the Palestinian territories, says the monetary loss to these areas in the past 12-months may be as high as $2.5 billion.

Addressing a news conference in Jerusalem, Mr. Larsen said the results of an investigation conducted by his office shows that action must be taken to reconcile Israel's desire to improve its security, and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

"Under the current closure, it is easy to document that there is massive suffering among innocent people," he said. "And what I am calling for is a dialogue between the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the relevant part of the international community to ease this suffering. But I also said, and I will repeat it, taking into account the security of the Israeli people."

Mr. Larsen says that before the outbreak of violence, the Palestinian economy had been showing signs of sustained recovery.

But those gains had almost been wiped out by the effect of Israel's blockade of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Palestinian unemployment soaring to nearly 27 percent this year.

Mr. Larsen says it is in Israel's interests to ensure that the Palestinian Authority does not collapse. "If [it]so happened, I would say that there would be a high degree of chance that we would pretty rapidly move into a situation of anarchy and chaos in the West Bank and Gaza, which would be counter-productive to the security in West Bank and Gaza but also for the security in Israel," he said.

Mr. Larsen says that the closures are only serving to intensify Palestinian anger, which is resulting in more violence, rather than improving security for Israelis.

He strongly advocated Israel lifting its blockade of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and for Palestinian workers to return to their old jobs inside Israel.

But, Mr. Larsen emphasized that even with political progress it would take great effort and a long period of time to restore the Palestinian economy to what he called its "earlier position of promise."


Mid-East Realitieswww.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/9/382.htm