Where does the ‘State of Palestine’ get its money from?

So where does ‘Palestine’ get its money from?  A good question which came to mind a while back.

Constantly on the pro-‘Palestinian’ sites and Facebook pages one hears comments about the United States of America running Israel, giving money to Israel, Israel being America’s lap dog etc., etc.  They clearly have no idea how much money the US gives ‘Palestine’, let alone other countries.

‘Palestinians’ in Judaea & Samaria, and the Gaza Strip are the world’s largest per capita recipients of international foreign aid.  Aid has been offered to the Palestinian National Authority and other Palestinian Non-governmental organizations by the international community, including International Non-governmental Organisations .

The entities that provide aid to the Palestinians are categorised into seven groups: the Arab nations, the European Union, the United States, Japan, international institutions (including agencies of the UN system), European countries, and other nations.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest providers of aid to the Palestinian people. Since 2002, Saudi Arabia has given more than $480 million in monetary support to the Palestinian Authority, and has supported Palestinian refugees by contributing to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Through the Arab League it has provided more than $250 million for the ‘Palestinians’, and pledged $500 million in assistance over the next three years at the Donors Conference in Dec 2007.

According to the Development Assistance Committee, the main multilateral donors for the 2006–2007 period were UNRWA and the EU (through the European Commission); the main bilateral donors were the US, Japan, Canada and five European countries (Norway, Germany, Sweden, Spain and France).

Since 1993 the European Commission and the EU member-states combined have been by far the largest aid contributor to the ‘Palestinians’

The Arab League states have also been substantial donors, mainly through budgetary support to the  Palestinian National Authority – PNA during the Second Intifada; they have been however criticised for not sufficiently financing the UNRWA and the PNA, and for balking at their pledges.

After the 2006 ‘Palestinian’ elections, the Arab countries tried to contribute to the payment of the ‘Palestinian’ public servants’ wages, bypassing the PNA; at the same time Arab funds were paid directly to Abbas’ office for disbursement.

During the Paris Conference, 11% of the pledges came from the US and Canada, 53% from Europe and 20% from the Arab countries.

From 2000 the European Union had provided over €1.6 billion to UNRWA, supposedly a relief and human development agency primarily aimed to help ‘Palestinian’ refugees and other segments of ‘Palestinian’ society, beside additional financial aid to ‘Palestinians’.

In 2013 UNRWA received 294,023,401 millions of dollars from USA, 216,386,867 millions of dollars from EU, 151,566,702 millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, 93,737,454 millions of dollars, from Sweden 54,439,768 millions of dollars, from Germany 53,061,050 millions of dollars, from Norway 34,595,162 millions of dollars, from Japan 28,836,915 millions of dollars, from Switzerland 23,267,282 millions of dollars, from Australia 22,445,260 millions of dollars, from Netherlands 20,049,472 from Denmark 18,638,884, millions of dollars from Kuwait 17,000,000, millions of dollars, from France 12,852,039 millions of dollars from Italy 10,714,805 millions of dollars, from Belgium 10,271,039 millions of dollars and smaller amounts from other countries as well, totaling 1,091,649,846 billions of dollars in the year of 2013.

From the UNRWA website

Since the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel has been working with the PA to help develop a viable, even vibrant economy for the Palestinians that provides jobs and support the infrastructure for viability. A strong economy is essential for stability and, hopefully, will lead to the development of social and democratic institutions. Even during periods of escalated violence against Israel, including Intifadas and rockets reigning down from Gaza deliberately targeting civilians, Israel continued its efforts to improve the lives of the Palestinians.

Many of the things Israel does on a daily basis go without public notice, vastly under-reported in the media. The hope is that prospects of a better future for the Palestinians will enhance the chance for peace.

Please read this link because it is such an eye opener

This is mind blowing.

Since 1996, the West Bank has received over 70,000 loans from the UNRWA alone, amounting to over 100 million dollars, and since 1992 Gaza has received over 98,000 UNRWA loans amounting to over 110 million dollars. To provide context, the amount of international aid provided to the Palestinians, taking inflation into account, far exceeds the Marshall Plan aid designated for rebuilding Europe following the Second World War.

The Marshall Plan distributed $60 billion (at today’s prices), which worked out to $272 per European in the main participating countries. By contrast, by the end of last year, according to the World Bank, the Palestinians had received $4 billion since Oslo, which translates into $1,330 per Palestinian. In other words, the Palestinians have already gotten more than four times as much as the Europeans got from the Marshall Plan. Or if done on an annual basis, the Palestinians have gotten $161 per person per year compared to $68 per person annually under the four-year Marshall Plan, meaning the Palestinians have gotten more than twice as much aid for twice as long as Europe got under the Marshall Plan.

In 2000, WBG [West Bank and Gaza] received $636 million in aid or $214 for each of the three million WBG residents. That is the highest in the world by far. Only Bosnia, at $185, is close; Israel is third at $128.

The PA reported that in the first 18 months of the intifada, Arab countries provided $677 million in aid. Donor funding was “only” $482 million in 1999 before the violence began; it ballooned to $929 million in 2001. That is an extra $447 million, or $149 extra per Palestinian.

It is instructive to compare Palestinian incomes to those of other Arabs. In 2000, WBG income per person was $1,660. That was higher than in such middle-income Arab countries as Algeria ($1,580) or Egypt ($1,490). Palestinian income has fallen as the violence has worsened. In its March 2002 report on the impact of the violence, the World Bank’s estimate was that Palestinian income per person fell 19 percent in 2001, which would put the income at about $1,340. That is still above a country such as Morocco ($1,180 in 2000). The World Bank’s estimate was that harsher closure could mean that Palestinian income may fall 20 percent more in 2002, which would put the per-capita income at $1,070. Palestinian income may be only 14 percent higher than in Syria, where per-capita income was $940 in 2000.

As the comparison above shows, the Palestinians pre-intifada were solidly middle-class in the Arab world: their income was above the average for all Arabs. With the disastrous violence of the last two years, Palestinians have slipped down to become lower middle class among the Arabs, somewhere below Morocco but above Syria.