RAMALLAH, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Thursday called on the international community to pile pressure on Israel to prevent measures blocking the implementation of Palestinian development projects.
The call came as the World Bank issued a report warning that a severe fiscal crisis engulfing the PNA will deepen if the recent decline in donor assistance continues. It also warned that this situation "jeopardize gains" made in recent years in building strong institutions.
Ghassan al-Khatib, spokesman for the PNA, welcomed the report, noting that its conclusions agreed with the Palestinian ones "that Israeli restrictions on the PNA's work and the economy are the basic obstacles constraining development and growth."
The report should stimulate the international community to press Israel seriously to end its restrictions, al-Khatib told Xinhua, adding that Israel must allow the PNA to work freely in C areas in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, where Israel retains administrative and security control.
Pointing at the delay in aid assistance from donor countries, al-Khatib urged those countries, especially Arab states, to quickly send their financial support to help the PNA ride over the fiscal crisis.
The report is a document prepared twice a year to update the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), a forum of donors to the PNA. The AHLC is due to meet in Brussels on March 21.
Authors of the report acknowledged "important" PNA efforts to mitigate the crisis through improved domestic revenue collection and a reduction in expenditures. However, they warned that this will have limited impact in the absence of improved Israeli cooperation, including, among other things, sharing of relevant tax information.
Additional aid in the short-term is also imperative, because the PNA "simply cannot take enough steps to reduce the projected recurrent deficit to the currently expected level of aid," the report said.
While the Palestinian economy continues to grow ... indications of sustainable growth remain absent, the report said, listing that growth in West Bank actually slowed in 2011 compared with the previous year.
Besides, the report attributed slowdown also to "a largely unchanged Israeli system of restrictions preventing the free flow of commercial traffic and goods."
According to the report, growth will remain highly aid- dependent unless the Palestinian private sector has the room to grow. This will only be possible if Israel lifts remaining restrictions on access to land, water, a range of raw materials and export markets, and the PNA improves the business environment and attracts needed investment.
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