Struggle for equality
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- Written by Nadia Hijab and Victoria Brittain Nadia Hijab and Victoria Brittain
- Published: 17 December 2007 17 December 2007
- Hits: 4959 4959
Palestinians 'win $7bn aid vow'
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 17 December 2007 17 December 2007
- Hits: 4698 4698
The figure cited by Bernard Kouchner exceeded the $5.6bn over three years which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had asked for.
The pledge by 68 states and organisations came at the biggest such meeting in a decade.
The money is earmarked for creating a viable Palestinian state.
But the package was rejected by Mr Abbas's rivals, Hamas.
The Islamist group, which wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Mr Abbas in June, was not invited to the conference, which it called a "declaration of war" on it.
Two themes dominated the conference, BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports from Paris: the need for donors to shore up the Palestinian Authority and the need for Israel to change Palestinian lives for the better.
Our editor notes that attempts to help the 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are still hamstrung by the desire of the donors, Israel and Mr Abbas not to do anything that might assist Hamas.
'Moment of truth'
Mr Abbas told the conference that without the aid, the Palestinian territories faced a "total catastrophe" and he challenged Israel to freeze all settlement activity.
KNOWN DONOR PLEDGES
UK: £243m ($490m) over three years
European Union: $650m in 2008
US: $555m in 2008
France: $300m over three years
Germany: $290m over three years
Japan: $150m
South Korea: $13m over three years
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in turn called for "the continued and unwavering support of the international community" for the Palestinian Authority.
"This conference is literally the government's last hope to avoid bankruptcy," she said.
Monday's summit follows last month's US-backed Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland, which launched negotiations aimed at creating a Palestinian state within the next 12 months.
UK Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander said in Paris: "It is crucial that the international community maintain the momentum started at Annapolis, and play its part by offering substantial financial as well as political support."
A key element of the renewed peace talks is the US-backed road map, which requires Israel to freeze settlement-building activity and the Palestinians to disarm militants.
After the Annapolis talks, Israel unveiled plans to expand a settlement on occupied land between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Mr Abbas told the conference that both the Palestinians and Israelis should each meet their road map commitments "without excuses".
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Israel would have to reconcile its legitimate security needs with allowing Palestinians more freedom of movement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the summit that Israel was committed to its obligations, "including in relation to settlement activities".
"We do not want the image of Israel in the Palestinian mind to be a soldier at a checkpoint," she added.
'Abhorrent conditions'
The aid package formally includes Gaza, but analysts say most of the money will go to the West Bank, controlled by Mr Abbas.
Gaza is dependent on aid from the international community
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the summit that people in Gaza were living in the "most abhorrent conditions" that had "devastating effects on the economy and on family livelihoods".
The new envoy of the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators, ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, told donors their pledges would be "indispensable" to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The biggest pledges came from the European Union and the US, which promised $650m and $555m respectively.
It is the biggest gathering of its kind since 1996.
The World Bank and several aid organisations have said that until Israel lifts its system of restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods, giving more money will not rebuild the Palestinians' economy.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7147338.stm
Published: 2007/12/17 19:39:42 GMT
© BBC MMVII
"Will work for Apartheid" . . . Students hired to promote Israel
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- Written by JTA JTA
- Published: 17 December 2007 17 December 2007
- Hits: 4904 4904
An advocacy group is hiring students as on-campus promoters of Israel.
StandWithUs is offering up to $1,000 a year this semester to 38 Emerson
fellows, Jewish student leaders at key colleges and universities
targeted by the organization. Their duties will include bringing in
speakers and films that show Israel in a positive light.
Officials from StandWithUs told reporters that they gave particular
consideration to applicants from “problem campuses” such as Columbia,
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of
Michigan, which the organization identifies as hotbeds of anti-Israel
sentiment.
More than 100 students applied for the fellowships, funded by California-based philanthropists Rita and Steven Emerson.
StandWithUs is an international pro-Israel education organization founded in 2001.
Palestinians want help more than handouts in Paris
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- Written by Rory McCarthy in Jiftlik, The Guardian Rory McCarthy in Jiftlik, The Guardian
- Published: 16 December 2007 16 December 2007
- Hits: 5053 5053
· Donors' aid conference ready to pledge $5.6bn
· Farmers say problems lie with politics not crops
"The crisis in Jiftlik is stark. The village sits in the Jordan valley,
one of the most fertile regions of the West Bank, where the warm winter
sun provides unusually long planting seasons and high-quality crops.
Jewish settlers run large farms which dominate huge tracts of the
Jordan valley and are thriving. The Palestinians, whose land is
shrinking, struggle to survive. "
Read more: Palestinians want help more than handouts in Paris
Concern rises regarding Gaza health care access
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- Written by Report, The Electronic Intifada Report, The Electronic Intifada
- Published: 15 December 2007 15 December 2007
- Hits: 4930 4930
Ambrogio Manenti, head of the WHO in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, urged medical professionals to take a stand against the current situation which, he said, was having a negative impact on the health of residents.
Manenti was speaking at a WHO symposium with the Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) organization and the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.
The WHO noted an increase in the number of patients being denied access to care outside Gaza.