Palestine Investment Conference – Realities & Perspectives
20, May 2008
Preparations are currently underway for the Palestine
Investment Conference that is due to start in Bethlehem tomorrow. Local and regional Arabic and international
parties are slated to take part in the conference, which is being publicized under
the title of promoting investment in Palestine, and stimulating the government
and private sector to attract foreign investment in order to boost economic
development in Palestine.
There is no doubt that government agencies and
representatives of the Palestinian private sector are making genuine efforts to
stimulate international and Arab investment in the Palestinian economy. However, the conference is being held within
the context of an ongoing political process that the organizers believe forms a
sound basis for creating a climate conducive to attracting investment.
The conference is being held on the basis of the common
assumption by the Palestinian government that the general climate for
investment has improved recently, and that this will subsequently bring about
positive developments in securing the investments needed to set in motion the
wheel of the Palestinian economy, and provide the resources necessary to
improve economic performance.
Yet it is clear that what is happening on the ground
contradicts these expectations and refutes all of these assumptions. There is no better evidence for this than a
report given by the Palestinian government to donor countries at a conference
in London on 2
May 2008. This report revealed beyond
any doubt that economic performance in 2007 and 2008 remained at a standstill,
with a growth rate of 0%. It also
highlighted that poverty rates have worsened since the beginning of 2008, and
that unemployment rates have reached more than 22% according to the Palestinian
Central Bureau of Statistics. At the
same time, the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip and its
catastrophic manifestations are main features of the economic and social
situations in the Palestinian territories.
These trends are also reflected in reports by the World Bank and the Humanitarian Coordination Office
of the United Nations Secretary General, which link the poor humanitarian
situation with the economic devastation caused by the continued closure regime
and siege enforced by the occupation authorities on the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza
Strip.
All of these indicators underscore the impossibility of
achieving significant success on the economic level, without strategic,
concerted action at the political level to transform the current situation.
Experience has shown that without tacking the cause, the symptoms will persist.
Promoting misconceptions about the existence of a
meaningful peace process that will bring with it better conditions and a
positive environment that will contribute to improving economic performance will
only serve to deepen the frustration felt by the Palestinian people, who
continue to witness harassment, barriers to movement, closures, and siege on
the ground.
Another worrying element is the fact that the conference's
agenda includes economic partnerships in which Palestinians are used as a
bridge between the Arab world and Israel, bypassing all political
issues to achieve the normalization of investments. Moreover, talk of industrial zones whose
geographic and legal identities are identified by Israel will only serve Israeli
interests and will not solve the unemployment problems plaguing Palestinian
society.
While we understand the importance of investment and the
private sector's role in this process, we believe that such a process must be
tied to a comprehensive and integrated vision for strengthening the
steadfastness of the Palestinian people, and that it should be linked to the
overall national agenda aimed at liberation and independence from occupation,
within the framework of international legitimacy.
Palestinian civil society organizations see the need for an
open and comprehensive dialogue on the theme of development and socio-economic
prospects and its relevance to the overall political framework. This is necessary in order for Palestinians
to reach a common vision based on the understanding of Palestinian priorities
and goals, towards a joint strategy that will result in genuine improvements in
people's lives, enhance and support their steadfastness and resilience in the
face of Israeli occupation policies, and enable the Palestinian people to
achieve their national goal of liberation and freedom.
The Palestinian NGO Network