Contention has flared up between the Gaza government and international NGOs, with the former demanding more financial oversight of the latter's operations, writes Saleh Al-Naami Recently, relations between several international organisations operating in the Gaza Strip on the one hand, and the government of Ismail Haneyah, Palestinian factions, the elite, and the people in Gaza have deteriorated greatly. The government in Gaza, along with the elite and most of the population accuse these agencies of harbouring hidden agendas to undermine the Palestinian cause and its foundations, especially the issue of refugees. Also, that they are attempting to instill values that contradict Islamic beliefs, as well as using funds for projects that are not a priority for Palestinians. Tensions peaked when Gaza's Ministry of Interior asked international agencies to submit documents outlining spending on projects in the Gaza Strip. Of the 78 international organisations operating in Gaza, 20 refused to cooperate with the ministry, most prominently USAID. The ministry quickly responded by shutting down one international agency that refused scrutiny by the Gaza government. Eventually, USAID warned the Gaza government that it will halt all its aid projects within 48 hours if the government does not rescind its demand and reinstate the organisations that were shut down. Ehab Al-Ghosayn, spokesman for the ministry of interior in Gaza, described the threat by USAID as part of the political siege that foreign parties are imposing on the Palestinian government in Gaza. Al-Ghosayn told Al-Ahram Weekly that his ministry is scrutinising foreign and local NGOs operating in the Gaza Strip as part of its powers dictated by Palestinian law. He objected to the sensitivity of international organisations over the application of the law, and refusal to cooperate with bodies that are authorised by law. He emphasised that the application of the law of the land is obligatory for international agencies. Al-Ghosayn urged international agencies that are refusing to cooperate with his ministry to change their position, since allowing the ministry to review their spending is in the interest of not only the Palestinian people, who benefit from their services, but also serves the interests of the agencies themselves. USAID carried out its threat and suspended its programmes in the Gaza Strip, which caused some parties to intercede to reach an understanding between the agency and Haneyah's government. This is to ensure that the organisations continue their work while at the same the Gaza government can stay informed about the spending of these agencies. Among those who interceded to resolve the dispute is the Civic Organisations Network headed by Amjad Al-Shawwa. The Gaza government and USAID did finally respond to mediation and reached an understanding that temporarily ended the standoff. The Gaza government's foreign minister, Mohamed Awad, announced that a deal was reached with these international organisations to hold a workshop where they will reach agreement on mechanisms to ascertain the goals of the projects implemented by these agencies. "Among these mechanisms is agreeing to a legal auditor to review administrative and financial documents, who would then report to the Gaza government and the agencies as well to pre-empt any distortion or mismanagement," stated Awad. He emphasised that his government's aim is to verify that these organisations are implementing the declared goals of their plans and avoid corruption. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was also subjected to strong criticism, after being accused by many Palestinian entities of sabotaging the issue of Palestinian refugees by reducing its services for refugees in the Gaza Strip. Also by attempting to undermine the principles of the Muslim faith for Palestinian students attending UNRWA schools. The parents of children attending these schools complained that the second grade test on the subject of human rights described inequality in inheritance between men and women as "a violation". Ismail Al-Thawabta, a Palestinian writer and researcher, told the Weekly that such a description is an attempt to direct students to critique the Quran and the Muslim faith. Meanwhile, the Palestinian public was angered with the decision by UNRWA to reduce services for Palestinian refugees. In light of these events, a number of Palestinian factions, academics, grassroots committees and independents declared at the beginning of the week the creation of an association to monitor UNRWA, under the name "UNRWA Watch". Essam Adwan, the committee's secretary, said that the mission of the association is to monitor UNRWA's performance and whether it is implementing the goals that were set out by the UN in terms of guaranteeing the rights of Palestinian refugees. Adwan revealed that specialised work committees were formed to monitor all aspects of UNRWA's work, including education, health and environment, housing, small businesses, emergency relief, and other operations. He said that the committees will observe UNRWA's performance everywhere it operates, in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and that the main headquarters will be in Gaza. Adwan added that UNRWA Watch will issue a comprehensive report twice a year about the services provided by the agency, to be distributed locally and around the world. The association called on all Palestinian refugees to cooperate with its mission by sending their complaints and comments about the performance of UNRWA via e-mail. He emphasised that all steps will follow legal procedures and that it will use all forms of popular pressure through strikes, instructional flyers and awareness newsletters to put pressure on UNRWA. Samir Modalala, member of UNRWA Watch, claimed that the UN is reducing services for refugees, warning that this is intentional sabotage of the refugee issue. "We know it is not a financial problem but a political one, aiming to cutback the agency's services before handing them over to the Palestinian Authority and host countries," Modalala asserted. UNRWA issued a statement explaining that its recent decision to reduce services to Palestinian refugees only applies to emergency procedures, which the agency has been applying since Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000. But this in no way affects regular services in all regions where Palestinian refugees are located. Abu Hassana added that until the decision to cut back services was issued, the agency was temporarily employing 10,000 Palestinian refugees as part of the programme to combat temporary unemployment. But because of the budget deficit, a decision was taken to decrease the number of those temporarily employed to 6,500. He added that financial restrictions caused the agency to eliminate a measure it adopted three years, namely giving each student in UNRWA schools 100 shekels (about $30). Abu Hassana further explained that the decision to cutback the number of families receiving material aid from 7,000 to 5,800 by adopting new criteria for families receiving this aid. He warned that UNRWA will have to reduce even more services if another deficit of $35 million is not addressed by the beginning of October, saying that this is a warning to donor countries to quickly pay their dues. Although international agencies have defended themselves, the majority of Palestinians still view them as guilty.
