As the Quartet discusses how to bypass the democratically-elected Hamas-led government, Palestinians are running on empty, writes Erica Silverman "This government will not make political concessions that are harmful to Palestinian rights," Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told the Quartet which met in New York to discuss the escalating political and humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories and solutions to it. Over a quarter of the population has not received a paycheque in two months, and nearly half the population has been forced into debt. Gasoline and food shortages are but early signs of a dark economic recession. Representatives of the Quartet -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, European Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner -- met 9 May to discuss the financial and political boycott of the Hamas- led Palestinian government. The outcome was a rather vague statement endorsing "a temporary international mechanism that is limited in scope and duration, operates with full transparency and accountability, and ensures direct delivery of assistance to the Palestinian people". The "mechanism" should begin immediately and be reviewed after three months. The European Union offered to develop the mechanism, welcoming the participation of other donors and international organisations, and urging Israel to take parallel steps. The goal is to bypass the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA), channelling funds directly through President Mahmoud Abbas, although the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs and Palestinian officials claim the national framework of the PA cannot be replaced by the president's office or a loose network of NGOs with individual agendas. UN agencies on the ground have also warned they lack the capacity to implement the "mechanism". How will funds be allocated to hospitals and yet bypass the Ministry of Health while 60 per cent of healthcare facilities are run by the PA? And time is of the essence, with a complete breakdown of PA services -- healthcare, sanitation and police protection -- projected in less than two months. "We appreciate some positive steps, but really the Quartet must be in touch with the government. Only the minister of finance has the capacity to distribute the funds," government spokesperson Ghazi Hamad told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We have no problem to channel the funds through Abbas, but we do not want our financial system being controlled externally," he continued. Hamad said UN officials had suggested the "mechanism" would deal directly with ministry employees, bypassing the minister. Most executive leaders in PA ministries are still Fatah- affiliated. The US and the EU suspended assistance to the Palestinian government's cabinet and ministries after the Hamas-led government rejected the Quartet's principles of ending armed resistance, recognising Israel and respecting all previous agreements struck between parties to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The Quartet promised not to punish the Palestinian people for voting in free and fair elections, however US anti-terror sanctions and the joint effort of the US and Israel to prevent the payment of PA salaries has caused an economic and humanitarian crisis drawing global attention, and prompting talks to find an urgent reprieve. The US State Department reiterated its position against any international plan to allow the payment of PA salaries, and Israel's ambassador to Washington, Daniel Ayalon, echoed that position. In a letter to the Quartet, President Abbas said, "Besides the potential humanitarian crisis resulting from the general deterioration of the economic situation, inability to pay salaries might have deep destabilising political and security implications." As punishment for Hamas' electoral victory, Israel decided to withhold $54 million in monthly tax revenue owed to the PA, which barely covers the salaries of nearly 160,000 PA employees, in violation of the Paris Protocol signed in 1994 in conjunction with the Oslo Accords. A 7 May World Bank report stated, "No mechanism is likely to restore fiscal predictability and stability unless the GOI [Government of Israel] agrees to resume revenue transfers ... either to resume transfers direct, or to route the clearance revenues through the bypass mechanism." The report also states that divesting power from the Ministry of Finance and transferring it to the presidency could undermine a dozen years of donor efforts to build the responsible, accountable institutions necessary for a future Palestinian state. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelelah Al-Khatib and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal met with Quartet representatives, admonishing the blockade and underlining that the collapse of the PA would destabilise the region. Local, regional and international banks, fearful of facing US anti-terrorism sanctions and lawsuits filed in US courts, have refused to deal with the PA, creating a liquidity crisis and leading Arab Bank to close the PA's "single treasury account". Hence, the PA has been unable to receive funds from abroad and emergency assistance from the Arab League amounting to $70 million has still not found its way to the Palestinians. The league attempted to deposit PA paycheques directly into employee accounts, but was thwarted by US regulations. President Abbas flew to Moscow Sunday to garner the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia already donated $10 million worth of assistance and has taken a more diplomatic stance toward the Hamas-led government than its Quartet counterparts. Abbas's tour includes France and the EU headquarters in Brussels, where he will address the European Parliament. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced Israel would transfer 50 million Shekels of Palestinian tax revenue legally owed to the PA as "humanitarian assistance". The funds will be channelled only to humanitarian projects through the Quartet "mechanism," mostly devoted to medical assistance, fearing the outbreak of disease amidst a Gaza health crisis that would likely surpass Israeli checkpoints. Brigadier General Tariq Zaid, chief of police in the West Bank, has not received PA funds for police operations in three months. Zaid, who also manages PA prisons, reported a shortage of medical supplies for prisoners and police forces. Requests to the Red Cross for emergency assistance have gone answered. "These prisoners are my responsibility, and in one month basic food supplies will run out," he warned. Where do Palestinian political sympathies lie amidst the crisis? According to a recent opinion poll conducted by An-Najah National University in the West Bank, 38.8 per cent of respondents say that Hamas should recognise Israel if the latter withdraws to 1967 borders, while 36.9 per cent say Hamas should not recognise Israel under any circumstances. "They (the US and the EU) only gave Hamas two weeks in office before stopping assistance, and did not ask for any conditions from Israel," says Hamad. The Quartet asserts that Hamas's recognition of previous agreements will resuscitate the peace process. Yet Karni, the only commercial crossing for import and export of goods to Gaza, has been sealed shut for half of this year, crushing the Palestinian economy, while the Rice-brokered "Agreement on Movement and Access" stipulates that "passages will operate continuously." Doesn't Israel have to implement past agreements before Hamas or anyone else can recognise them?
