End Anglo-US State Terrorism! Justice and Freedom for the Palestinian People!

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End Anglo-US State Terrorism! Justice and Freedom for the Palestinian People!

End Israeli Occupation – Free Palestine!
Twenty-Thousand People Demonstrate in London's Trafalgar Square

Palestine Solidarity Campaign Petition:
Stop Starving the Palestinians!

Rally in Newcastle against the Starvation of the Palestinians

US Is the Criminal, Not Palestine!
Defend Palestine’s Right to Be

Attempt to Asphyxiate a People

US Interfering Worldwide to Block Funds to Palestine

The Palestinian people on May 15 once again commemorated Nakba (Catastrophe) day. This year marks the 58th anniversary of the Nakba when Zionist terrorist bands trained, equipped and supported by the British mandate authorities began staging attacks against Palestinian civilians. Having declared independence for the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, the Zionist forces occupied a number of Palestinian towns and villages, committing massacres against the Palestinian people and expelling them from their homes.

            The Nakba resulted in the dispossession of hundreds of thousands Palestinians of their ancestral land. Another 350,000 were dispossessed in 1967 following the Six-Day War during which Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. Today there are 5.1 million Palestinians in the diaspora – a great many of whom have lived in refugee camps for generations.

            WDIE condemns the British government, along with the United States, the European Union and other powers, who have cut off economic aid to the Palestinian Authority following the recent election victory of Hamas. We condemn the state terrorism and economic blackmail of the British government and other big powers who are directly interfering in halting international aid to Palestine. We call for an end to all bullying and threats by the British government which is trying to impose its own version of “democracy” on the whole world, a “democracy” which is becoming further exposed as the enemy of peace and sovereignty.

            The actions of Britain and the big powers can themselves be considered as a crime against humanity. We call on the working class and people to step up their support for the just cause of the Palestinian people who are continuing to fight for their national rights – the right to their homeland, and the right to determine their own future. On this occasion, we salute the heroic Palestinian people who have refused to abandon their just struggles and resistance against all attempts to wipe them out as a people.

Twenty-thousand people demonstrated in London's Trafalgar Square on May 20, 2006, against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the strengthening of the economic blockade of the Palestinian people. The demonstration was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Association of Palestinian Community, Palestinian Return Centre, British Muslim Initiative, Friends of Al-Aqsa and the Palestinian Forum in Britain. It was supported by: Just Peace UK, Muslim Association of Britain, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Pax Christi, Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad, War on Want, Arab Media Watch and major British trade unions including Unison, the biggest trade union in Britain, representing people who work in public services, the voluntary and private sectors; the National Union of Journalists and NATFHE, the largest trade union and professional association for lecturers, trainers, researchers and managers working in further and higher education throughout England, Wales and the north of Ireland.

            A replica of the Israeli wall and a large banner with the words "Stop Starving Palestinians, End Israel's Occupation and Recognise Palestinian Democracy" acted as a backdrop for the speakers who addressed the demonstrators. Anti-Zionist Israelis, in large fur hats, took up a prominent position near the speakers while young people waving Palestinian flags stood on the railings in Trafalgar Square.

            The demonstration was prompted by the Israeli government's decision to strengthen the economic blockade of the Palestinian people. Dov Weisglass, the Israeli prime minister's adviser, joked: "It's like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won't die."

            According to a January 2006 UN report, 64% of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories are living below the poverty line: In Gaza, 40% of children suffer from malnutrition because of the Israeli occupation. John Ging, director of UN operations there, said: "This is the first time bread has been rationed. There’s no sugar, oil, milk, the basics."

            George, who described himself as a genuine Iraqi, came to the demonstration draped in an Iraqi flag and pointed out that the British have erected barricades, no different from Israel's wall, around the old civil port and airport in Basra.

            Professor Manual Assassian, who was introduced as the man who would be the Palestinian ambassador to Britain if Palestine was recognised as a country, said that 70 percent of Palestinians were living below the poverty line in a totally gloomy, desperate, desolate and unpredictable environment. The western world preaches democracy and the rule of law but when the Palestinians practice democracy, it reneges.

            Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas said that a very clear message demanding the rejection of Israel's illegal and immoral occupation had to be sent to the British government. The Palestinians have held three democratic elections and it is unforgivable that the British government stands by when it is receiving daily reports about the continuing crisis. Six hundred people are requiring medicines and will die if the blockade does not end. Israel should be facing UN sanctions.

            Baroness Jenny Tonge of the House of Lords said that people throughout Palestine do not have enough food and are seeing their land taken away. She referred to the hypocrisy of invading Iraq to bring democracy while refusing to recognise the democratically elected government of Palestine and urged the demonstrators to embarrass their MPs with their banners.

            Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said: "We are here today because we believe that peace can only come about through justice for the Palestinian people. Wars like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and occupations only benefit those who sell arms. The losers are the dispossessed in the Middle East region. Peace will not come about through another insane conflict against the people of Iran. Peace and security will only come through recognising the rights of others on the planet."

            The demonstrators were also addressed by speakers from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the Palestinian Community in Britain, Friends of Al Aqsa and Jews for Justice for Palestine.

(taken from Mathaba News Network)

To the Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street:

We note that the decision of the European Union and the United States to withhold funding to the Palestinian Authority together with the Israeli government's regular closure of trade routes in and out of Gaza gravely threatens the health and well-being of the Palestinian people. Poverty and malnutrition have increased, and Palestinians have died as a result of a blockade on medical supplies. We note that this decision was taken following the elections in Palestine which were declared free and fair by international observers. The Palestinian people are being punished for exercising their democratic right to choose their own representatives. We oppose this act of collective punishment against the already impoverished Palestinian people in contravention of international human rights conventions. We call upon the government to :

·         Demand the immediate reinstatement of all funding, as well as for the return of the withheld revenues collected by the Israeli government which belong to the Palestinian people.

·         Recognise Palestinian democracy.

·         Ensure Israel abides by international law, including a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

To sign the petition, go to http://www.palestinecampaign.org/sign.asp

On Saturday, May 20, 2006, about 50 people gathered for a Rally at Newcastle Monument against the starvation of Palestinians and on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of Al Nakba. The rally was organised by Tyneside and Durham Palestinian Solidarity.

            The US and the EU cut funding to the Palestinian National Authority as a result of the January 2006 elections that gave Hamas a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council. The decision to cut the funding of a democratically elected government has rightly been condemned by human rights organisations and by progressive and democratic people everywhere.

            In a move against the rally, the police on behalf of the authorities tried to stop the rally taking place by denying the organisers the use of amplification. However, chaired by Peter Burnett, speaker after speaker addressed the participants for one hour condemning the actions of the US, Britain and the Israel government in imposing sanctions against the Palestinian people.

            WDIE is posting two of the speeches given there.

 

Roger Nettleship on behalf of Tyneside Stop the War Coalition

On behalf of the Tyneside Stop the War Coalition, South Tyneside Stop the Coalition and the anti-war movement across the north east we would like to bring our full support and solidarity to this rally organised by the Tyneside and Durham Palestinian Solidarity movement to hail the heroic Palestinian people who are this week are marking the 58th anniversary of Al Nakba which marks when the in 1948 Palestinians were driven out of their homeland.  Today, only one fifth of the 5 million Palestinians are able to live in their homeland which in equivalent terms would mean that only just over 10 million would be able to live in Britain with the remainder of the population being scattered around the world.   

            The British government likes to portray itself as the “honest broker” in what it describes as the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It is very important that the British people nail this lie that Britain is an “honest broker”.  It is not a conflict between two equals. Firstly, Israel occupies the Palestinian territories and secondly it is armed to the teeth by the US and supported in that by Britain. In the first six months of 2005 the UK granted licenses for £10.5m of weapon components to Israel, over three times the amount sold by the same point in 2004.

            This position of “honest broker” has no basis in international law and hides the real truth behind the role of Britain, the EU powers and the US in covering up their support for the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and for what has been described as the silent holocaust of the Palestinian population.

            It is not that Britain, the other EU powers and the US are playing a minor role compared to Israel either. On the contrary it is their sanctions that are ones crippling the Palestinian state.

            The Israeli government has halted the payment of customs duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, worth about $50 million a month and is using that money to compensate Israeli companies affected by there own sanctions. This itself is inhumane and illegal but by far the bigger crime being committed are the sanctions being imposed by the Britain, the EU and the US in support of Israel

            Foreign funding in 2005 amounted to $1.3 billion of the Palestinian National Authority's $1.9 billion annual budget. Almost all of this money, including the European Union's $600 million a year, has been withdrawn.

            Also, the Arab and Islamic countries still pledging aid are being blocked by Israel and the western states.   Arab Banks are refusing to pay this money because of the threat and fear of reprisal that the U.S. and Western European countries would impose sanctions against them for holding "terrorist" funds.

            The US and the European Union (EU) cut funding to the Palestinian national Authority as a result of the January 2006 elections that gave Hamas a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council. 

            The decision to cut funding to a democratically elected government has rightly been condemned by the human rights organizations and by progressive and democratic people everywhere.

            The US and the EU have a responsibility under international law to provide aid and to protect the Palestinian populations in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. Such funding directly provides for health care, education and most other key services to the Palestinian population. Human rights organisations have pointed out that provision of this funding constitutes crucial humanitarian aid in light of Israel's failure to do so. They also point out that Israel, under international law is legally obligated as the occupying power to provide such assistance.

            For a population that has suffered terrible deprivations for years and is confronted with continuous attacks from Israeli territory and armed incursions with deadly results, the present situation is leading to a situation which has rightly been characterised by Hamas as the silent holocaust. They want to annihilate the spirit of the Palestinians as a people – they will not succeed!

            It is intolerable situation for the people everywhere that the imperialist powers are subjecting the peoples of the Middle East to such barbarous sanctions, starvation, to wars of occupation, to death and destruction of their infrastructure and their homelands.

            This period will go down as one further dark period in the history, and throw back to medieval values in a modern world with these so-called “Anglo-US values” that these powers represent and want to impose everywhere. 

            As a stop the war coalition we demand that the government must not only honour its obligations to lift its sanctions against the Palestinians but support the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and end the illegal occupation of their territories by Israel.

            We demand that the government forthwith withdraws all of its troops from foreign soil and outlaws the stationing of British troops on foreign soil; that the government stops its own breaches of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ensures the implementation of the treaty in Britain with elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. We demand that the government pays reparations for the crimes it has committed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.  

            What this calls for in Britain is that the people should take up the demand for anti-war government as a constitutional matter: that no sanctions and wars of aggression can be advocated, or supported in word or deed; that ensures that Britain ends its collaboration in all aggressive military alliances with the United States, Europe and other countries; that it renounces the use of force in resolving and settling conflicts in international affairs amongst nations and pursues an anti-war policy in international affairs and supports the rights all peoples struggling for their national and social emancipation.

            Today the 5 million Palestinian people living in Palestine and in exile are marking Al Nakba.  They will win victory!

            Long Live Palestine! End the Occupation!

            Thank you

 

Iyad, Palestinian Speaker

The American alleged noble goal of “spreading freedom and democracy” in the Arab world has been scandalously exposed when the American administration, who encouraged the election, has rejected the people’s choice and is attempting to starve the whole nation as a punishment for exercising their democratic right.

            The Bush administration is putting pressure on the international community to stop all financial aid to the Palestinians.

            In the last weeks, EU leaders have been looking for ways to break the American pressure by giving proposals to transfer their financial aid to Palestinians directly. Although Hamas declared that it would consider these ideas, the Bush administration has blocked all the proposals and they prevent all banks to transfer money to Palestinians. They clearly want to starve and punish the Palestinian people not the Palestinian government.

            The Bush administration and Israel government are demanding that Hamas recognise Israel.  Why should we recognise Israel? I wonder does Israel recognise the Palestinians’ right to their own state?  Does Israel recognise the right of return? Does Israel respect the United Nations resolutions which clearly state that Israel is occupying Palestinian lands in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

            The Bush administration and Israel are demanding that Hamas renounce what they call “terrorism” and what we call “legal resistance”. I wonder why we should stop resistance while Israel doesn’t stop occupation and settlement.   All the world should understand that resistance is a legal right in case of occupation.   Wherever you find occupation you will find resistance. History tells that. Don’t demand us to stop fighting and reform our resistance as they like.   Demand that Israel end its occupation. Occupation is the root of all evil and disasters. We are the weak side and we are the real victims because our land is occupied and our rights are stolen. 

            The international media controlled by Israel and the US always tries to show Israel as the victim of the Palestinian resistance, whilst making Palestinians – whose houses are destroyed and land is stolen every day by settlement and the wall – look like a barbarian society that rejects peace.

            We want peace and we are in need of peace, but the real peace and the fair peace that gives us our rights and not the peace according to their conditions.

            Finally, I want to send a message to all those who are trying to starve the Palestinians. We will not sell our rights and dignity.    The Palestinian people who gave and are still sacrificing with their souls and bodies will not give up for some money. 

            You are committing a big mistake by starving Palestinians because your aggressive pressure is making Hamas stronger and stronger, and the support from Palestinians to their government is increasing day by day, and time will show you that you are the only losers.

US Marxist-Leninist Organisation, May 29, 2006

The US is organising to wipe out the Palestinians as a people. It is attempting to starve the population by bringing the economy to a halt, making it impossible for the government of Palestine, the Palestine Authority (PA) to pay wages, blocking banks worldwide from sending funds and now targeting humanitarian aid from nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

            The government is dictating that no banks, anywhere, including the Arab banks, forward funds to the PA. It is openly blackmailing the banks, saying all US assets of the banks will be frozen if any funds, including those that rightfully and legally belong to Palestine, are forwarded. The blackmail is not empty, given the role of the US dollar and financial institutions in the world trade and financial system. The US has also sanctioned actions by Israel designed to destroy Palestine, its economy and government, including withholding taxes taken from Palestinian workers and belonging to Palestine.

            The United Nations and many other organisations have spoken to the very grave situation facing the Palestinian people. The situation is a direct result of these US crimes of collective punishment and genocide. It is the US that is the criminal and world terrorist and must be condemned and punished as such.

            The recent bill passed by the House of Representatives, HR4681, targets humanitarian aid from nongovernmental organisations. It also targets the United Nations. The bill is part of the efforts by the government to put in place arrangements where the president can dictate which peoples, which political organisations, which humanitarian organisations, which individuals can exist. In the name of opposing terrorism, HR4681 criminalises the Palestinians as a people, as well as any organisation that supports the Palestinians without the authorisation of the president. Much like the House bill on immigration, criminalising immigrants and those who support them, this bill aims to criminalise Palestinians and those who support them.

            The US is unleashing this terrorism as revenge for the just and courageous stand of the Palestinian people to reject US and Israeli dictate and chart their own path forward. Defending their rights, the Palestinians elected Hamas in their January elections. While the United -Nations and many countries recognise Hamas as a political organisation, the US has branded it a “terrorist” organisation. It is now unleashing its impunity against the Palestinians, the United Nations, and many NGOs as revenge for the refusal of the Palestinians to submit to US dictate.

            USMLO salutes the Palestinians, for their January election victory and for their just and courageous stand against the US and its hired gun, Israel. We join the world’s people in saying, We Are All Palestinians and we will together defend the right of Palestine to be.

The US is the Criminal! Free Free Palestine!

By Elsa Claro, Granma International , May 11, 2006

Leading up to his resignation as special envoy of the Middle East Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations), James Wolfensohn objected to cutting humanitarian aid for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which is equivalent to starving the Palestinians to death.

            With elemental common sense, and probably recalling his former position in finance, the official described the measures taken by Washington and followed unhesitatingly by the European Union (although it claims to be against economic sanctions) as absurd. And after spending more than $1 billion a year in aid, above all to create government institutions and economic foundations without which it is impossible to create "a viable Palestinian state, it is an imprudent step", Wolfensohn states.

            The new Israeli Prime Minister Ehmud Olmert, immersed in creating a cabinet from the divided political class, set a bad example when he withdrew the $55 million monthly taxation payment to the PNA.

            However, that move is small change in comparison with the US/European boycott and subsequent punitive measures that could prevent nations of the region from coming to the aid of the Palestinians.

            In early May, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced that the Hamas cabinet had gained the disposition of Arab countries and the Muslim population to provide financial aid, but that attempts to prevent Palestinians from receiving that help are intense. That demonstrates that the United States is cutting funds to pressure the PNA government to make concessions, he stated.

            In effect, the Arab League raised $70 million for the Palestinians, but was unable to deliver it due to hesitation on the part of banks, which are afraid to transfer funds to Hamas government accounts because of possible US sanctions.

            The US government, expert at this type of evil intrigue, wants the economic strangulation to produce reactions against Hamas, so that its government fails. As a pretext it is using Hamas' refusal to recognise Israel as legitimate.

            However, officials of the Islamic Resistance Movement are continuing to reiterate their disposition to sit down at the negotiating table with Tel Aviv "if that can bring a just peace for the Palestinians", in other words, if the Israeli government proceeds with seriousness and leaves aside its subterfuge sanctioned and never criticised by the West. That is something that PNA President Mahmud Abbas agrees on, while also affirming that "there will be no concessions to Israel if it is a matter that affects Palestinian principles".

            Meanwhile, the lack of income is affecting thousands of teachers, students, police and various public employees, breaking the economic chain of survival. Witnesses say that in the Nuseirat refugee camp, with a population of more than 80,000, storekeepers are wondering whether or not their customers who are unable to pay will continue to receive their basic necessities, while they themselves are not able to pay their providers.

            For a population that has suffered terrible limitations for years and is confronted with continuous attacks from Israeli territory and armed incursions with deadly results, the present situation is leading to intolerable times. That is what Washington and Brussels are aiming for, without – it appears – carefully weighing up the consequences.

Palestine Media Centre, May 17, 2006

Exacerbating the Palestinian financial crisis, the second and last Israeli bank serving the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, the Discount Bank, announced on Tuesday it was severing ties with the Palestinian banking system in the next three to six months, as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) urged Arab banks “to be more courageous” and President Mahmoud Abbas warned of a catastrophe for the Palestinian people that could lead to an “explosion of anger”.

            On Monday, May 15, European Union (EU) foreign ministers pledged in Brussels to go ahead with a “temporary mechanism” to provide financial assistance to the Palestinian people via a trust fund bypassing the Hamas-led government, in line with an agreement among the diplomatic “Quartet” of the EU, the US, Russia and the United Nations.

            Israel, however, backed by the United States, was tightening its siege on the PNA. It is still illegally withholding the transfer of $50 million of PNA’s dues of monthly customs receipts and Israeli banks are boycotting the Palestinian banks, disrupting the banking system as well as the business and daily life in the occupied territories.

            President Abbas described Israel’s decision to withhold the transfer of $50 million in monthly customs receipts as “inhumane” and “illegal”.

Israeli Banks Severing Ties

            Israel’s Discount Bank on Tuesday said it was severing ties with banks operating in Palestinian areas.

            “No suitable framework was found which would enable Discount Bank to provide banking services to the Palestinian banks without it being exposed to the significant risks involved in such activities,” the bank said.

            The decision will make it more difficult for Palestinians – both the government and business people – to continue their substantial financial dealings with Israeli businesses.

            The bank’s decision came after Israel’s largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, cut off all connections with the PNA and Palestinian banks last month in the wake of the swearing-in of the Hamas-led Palestinian government.

            The move threatened to put further strain on the Palestinian economy.

            The PNA pays its tens of thousands of employees in Israeli shekels. The Palestinian government buys key supplies, such as fuel, electricity and water, from Israel, and numerous businesses buy goods from Israeli suppliers.

            Under interim peace accords signed in the mid-1990s, only two Israeli banks – Discount and Bank Hapoalim – are authorised to facilitate such transactions.

            A senior official at the Bank of Israel said experts are “aware of the delicacy” of the situation and hope to find a solution very soon. He said the central bank would work with governmental finance, legal and other ministries to establish guidelines allowing the Israeli commercial banks to maintain ties with the Palestinians, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday.

            “We are very committed and willing to find a solution along with a way to reduce the risks of assisting financing of terrorism,” he said. “We know that we have to be very creative about it.”

            The London-based Al-Hayat pan-Arab daily quoted American sources as saying on Wednesday that not only the United States, but also the European Union, Egypt, Jordan and others have committed to halting the flow of money to the PNA. Even some Palestinian banks reportedly feared that the US would cut off business ties with them, it added.

            The Palestinian economy was part of the Egyptian and Jordanian economies before 1967, when Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

            After the war, Israeli policymakers chose to integrate those territories with the Israeli economy. The Israeli shekel became the official currency. Palestinian banks developed relationships with Israeli banks.

            The Oslo accords reinforced the trend. Foreign funding in 2005 amounted to $1.3 billion of the PNA’s $1.9 billion annual budget. Almost all of this money, including the European Union’s $600 million a year, has been withdrawn.

            Countries still pledging direct aid include Saudi Arabia ($92 million), Iran ($50 million), Qatar ($50 million), and Russia ($10 million). This money still leaves a massive shortfall and is insufficient to cover the PNA’s monthly wage bill of approximately $100 million for its 165,000 employees.

Arab Banks Also Blocked

            However, even these Arab and Islamic pledges are blocked by Israel and the United States.

            The Arab League could not yet go ahead with a plan to transfer $70 million of those pledges directly to PNA employees, saying that the donation could not proceed, as regional and international banks refused to transfer the money due to fear of US anti-terrorist laws, which allow for institutions to have sanctions imposed and their assets frozen.

            Moreover, Arab-owned banks holding PNA accounts reportedly began in April trying to persuade the PNA to withdraw its money, apparently out of fear that the US and Western European countries would impose sanctions against them for holding “terrorist” funds.

            Banks in the region are particularly vulnerable to US pressure because they rely heavily on “correspondent” financial institutions in the United States to conduct their day-to-day business.

            Under US law, any foreign bank that refuses to cooperate with the United States in cutting off funding to Hamas could have its US assets frozen and its access to US financial markets denied.

            US banks that maintain “correspondent” relationships with banned foreign banks could also be found in breach of US law.

            Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the president of the International Union of Muslims Scholars (IUMS), threatened last week that, “We will call for a boycott of banks that refuse to transfer donated funds to the Palestinian people,” he told the opening session of a conference for the support of Palestinian people in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday, May 10. Millions of dollars have been raised for the Palestinians, he said, “But these funds were not transferred to the Palestinians because banks are refusing to cooperate fearing US sanctions. If this continues, we will urge Muslims to withdraw their money from these banks.”

            Several Arab banks have refused to transfer millions of dollars donated by Arabs and Muslims or some governments to the PNA fearing American sanctions.

            The Arab Bank, which holds 30,000 accounts of PNA workers, refrained from accepting such transfers after the US threatened to deem this as assistance to Hamas.

            Palestinian bank executives need only look down the road to the once-bustling Al Aqsa Islamic Bank building to remind themselves of the dangers of dealing with the new Hamas-led government.

            Al Aqsa boasted of being the fastest growing bank in the Palestinian territories with ties to Citibank, one of Wall Street’s most powerful financial institutions – until US President George W. Bush in 2001 labelled it “a financial arm of Hamas” and froze it out of the US market.

            “From that day on, they blocked all our accounts, all over the world,” said Adnan Sabri, assistant branch manager for Al Aqsa, which denies harbouring Hamas funds. (http://www.gulf-daily-news.com, 24 April 2006).

            “Anybody who deals with the new government will have the same problem. It’s impossible to function this way,” he said in his Ramallah office, on a street lined by banks.

            Suheil Gedeon, chairman of the board of the Commercial Bank of Palestine, said most Palestinian banks, rightly or wrongly, “are afraid to deal with the government” because “small banks like us need the US”.

            Gedeon said the Commercial Bank of Palestine would give the government no new loans “because of the risk and the political climate”.

            Abdulla Shihadeh, regional manager of the Jordan Commercial Bank, also had no plans to deal with Hamas and risk the bank’s non-Palestinian operations. “We have red lines,” he said.

PM Haniyeh Appeals to Palestinian, Arab Banks

            On Tuesday, May 16, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called on Arab banks to transfer money: “I urge Palestinian banks to show their nationalism and accept transfers in order to alleviate the suffering.”

            “Banks in Arab countries should have the courage to transfer aid to the Palestinian people,” said Haniyeh at a weekly cabinet meeting.

            “I appeal to the Arab banks to send the money and I appeal to our Palestinian banks to have the courage to receive the money,” he added.

            “Every Palestinian family is suffering because the government employees have not been paid since March, although the Palestinian cabinet has managed to ensure enough money for the salaries,” he said.

Inter-Palestinian Banking Transactions Affected

            Even inter-Palestinian banking transactions are affected by the financial siege. Al-Ahram Weekly’s correspondent Erica Silverman reported this week that a sudden upsurge in cash withdrawals, in reaction to the economic crisis, has depleted cash reserves in the Palestinian territories. A PNA auditor attempted to withdraw $40,000 from the Arab Bank in Gaza City. He was informed that $3,000-$4,000 was the maximum amount for withdrawal available.

            “Under Israeli occupation, Palestinians lack their own central banking system, meaning Palestinian banks must transfer cash reserves to the Israeli Central Bank,” Al-Ahram said, adding, “The Israeli Central Bank has tightened restrictions on cash transfers from abroad.”

            On May 3, Reuters reported that some of the 24 banks operating in Palestinian areas have given two months’ worth of salaries to thousands of government workers.

            Some bankers told Reuters that government workers had been allowed to take out cash equal to their wages despite running an overdraft.

            They said they have also extended a 2004 policy allowing state employees to get loans without interest or fees and extending Visa card withdrawals without salary guarantees.

            But from this month, those banks stopped providing salary advances and other similar programmes, partly for commercial reasons but also because banks were told by the United States they risked punitive measures if they rendered services to the Hamas government, bankers told Reuters.

            Some banks have also stopped the Visa card operations, while others have refused to give employees running overdrafts, Reuters added.

            An Arab Bank customer has told PMC that she could not transfer her house rental to her tenant’s account, as she used to do, with the same branch of the bank unless she obtains a power of attorney from him authorising her to do so and indicating the amount of the rental, the bank officer told her.

            The ongoing international and Arab financial embargo has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented dimensions within the West Bank and Gaza. The already impoverished Occupied Territories are facing a complete economic collapse, with skyrocketing unemployment and poverty and increasing hunger and malnutrition.