Palestinian Authority: Political, Economic Status Quo Not Sustainable
By Maan
A Palestinian Authority report to be presented to an international donor meeting on Sunday will present an action plan for safeguarding the two state solution.
The report entitled ‘Moving beyond the status quo: Safeguarding the two state solution’ stresses that the political and economic status quo is not sustainable and that the PA is institutionally ready for statehood.
“A new reality is being created on the ground by Israel, which is destroying the two-state solution,” the report says.
A combination of Israeli policies such as the expansion of settlements, house demolitions and the confiscation of land from Palestinian communities in Area C are ending the hope for the two state model as a resolution to the conflict, it adds.
“The international community and Palestinians together need to exercise all possible efforts to preserve the viability of the two-state solution – or consider the alternatives,” the report emphasized.
Palestinians must be given the right to “plan for and develop” all of the occupied territories, as the development of Area C is crucial to the viability of the two state solution, the report says.
The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a forum of donors to the PA, is due to meet in New York on September 23.
The PA Minister of Finance, Nabil Qassis, and the Minister of State for Planning Affairs, Muhammad Abu Ramadan, will both attend the meeting and submit the report regarding the current status quo in the West Bank.
“We all know that the only viable solution to the conflict is bringing an end to Israel’s almost half century-long occupation,” the ministers said on Tuesday.
“We can act decisively now to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution, or we can watch the situation evolve into full-blown apartheid.”
In their reports ahead of the summit, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nations have all warned of a worsening economic crisis in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, urging immediate donor action and removal of Israeli restrictions on growth.
