Economic Aid
December 16, 2007
The pledge will be made on Monday at an international donors conference taking place in Paris, German Cooperation and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said.
The funding will be available for the coming two years, she said in a statement.
The minister added that the development plan of the Palestinian Authority could only become a reality if certain conditions were met.
These included moving forward with the peace process, removing obstacles in the way of Palestinian economic development, a halt to the construction of Israeli settlements and overcoming the divisions within Palestinian society.
"Wretched living conditions"
Wieczorek-Zeul said Germany wanted to contribute to improving the "wretched living conditions" of the Palestinians so that they saw a chance for a better future and would be prepared to forgo violence.
But development aid alone was no substitute for a political solution, said the minister, who is attending the Paris talks together with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
More than 90 countries and international institutions will meet in Paris on Monday to discuss funding the PA. The acting Palestinian government will put forward a three-year development plan that requires $5.6 billion to implement.
With billions of dollars of aid money at stake, the international community wants to promote not only the structure of the future Palestinian state, but also hopes to strengthen the moderate politicians and boost President Mahmoud Abbas.
The stark alternative is continued violence from the militants, such as Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad.
The Hamas factor
The seven years since the outbreak of the Palestinian Uprising -- resulting in the isolation of Palestinian cities by the Israeli army and restrictions on freedom of movement -- have burdened the Palestinian economy greatly.
In addition, Western assistance to the PA was also curtailed after the Islamic Hamas, which formed a government after winning the 2006 Palestinian elections, refused demands to change its charter to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The end result, according to data released last week by The World Bank, is that per capita GDP in the Palestinian Areas is now 40 percent less than in 1999 and has turned the Palestinian economy "from one driven by investment and private sector productivity, to one sustained by government and private consumption, and donor aid."