Good going, Hamas! Growing Palestinian Poverty September 10, 2006

Ha’aretz reported today about a problem which seems to continually plague the Palestinian people.

A set of politicians who get fame for themselves while ignoring the plight of average citizens. Lest we forget, Hamas came to power largely because of discontent with the culture of political corruption which had come to plague the Arafat regime. (Even a former interior minister of Arafat’s didn’t know where $5 billion had gone.)

Now Hamas seems to be doing the same thing:

A survey by Near East Consulting (NEC) on Sunday showed that about 65 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live below the poverty line, a reflection of deepening hardship since the Hamas-led government was formed in March.

There has been an average monthly increase of 3 percent in poverty since Hamas came to power,” said Jamil Rabah, director of NEC.

Precisely how bad is it?

The survey defines poverty as a monthly income below NIS 2,000 for a family of four adults and two children.

According to the report, some 38 percent of Palestinians live in extreme hardship, defined as a monthly income below NIS 1,000 for a similar household.

The international community cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to Israel’s destruction, formed a government after winning a general election in January.

More than 165,000 Palestinian government employees have gone largely unpaid since March and began an open-ended strike for wages last week.

38 percent of Palestinians are living on less than 200 dollars a month.

Counting both the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian unemployment now stands at 50 percent.

Can one place the full blame on economic sanctions? If this is all because of the lack of aid from the US and Europe, then I would question Hamas’ ability to drive economic development in Palestine. Palestinians need jobs, not Qassams. Nationalistic pride does not put the khubz on the table.

How can any employee — civil or private — be expected to live without a paycheck for six months? This is not the fault of any Zionist entity. One writer for Islamic Relief says explicitly, “Travel restrictions have caused over 50% unemployment.” Why is there a sui generis need for Palestinians to be employed by Israeli companies? Where is the business community of Ramallah — and if it does not exist, where is the investment? Ahmadenijad is keen on economic development in Venezuela, moving production of its autos to a plant there. Are there no qualified Palestinians?

Palestine needs investment and jobs. Otherwise, who’s to stop the next demagogue from raising the banner of “the Jews are responsible for your poverty”? Oh wait…