According to a report released Monday by the World Bank, the Palestinian Authority is heading for imminent collapse with anarchy a real possibility.
Its coffers empty since the landslide victory of Hamas, the PA has not paid its workers in two months. Political prisoners sitting in Israeli jails have had their monthly stipends cut from NIS 1,000 to less than NIS 100.
Prisoners and their guards are allegedly without food, a claim confirmed by PA Police Chief General Ala Husseini in a report published in the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Quds al-Arabi. Ala Husseini said that prisoners and guards have not had any food for two days and relatives are being told to bring food from home to feed them. The PA is considering releasing many prisoners due to its inability to provide food.
Banks in PA-controlled territories are refusing to deal with the PA government for fear of violating U.S. anti-terror laws, severely curtailing its ability to collect and use the funds sent from Arab countries.
The U.S. and other Western nations cut off foreign aid and other funding mechanisms since the terror organization took over the government. They maintain the freeze will continue until Hamas agrees to formally recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounces terrorism and upholds peace agreements negotiated by the previous PA government.
Hamas remains adamant that it will not do so, despite the growing destitution of its constituency and the desperation of humanitarian groups who are watching the process unfold.
According to the World Bank report, the PA is heading for its worst year “in recent economic history”, with dire predictions of what will happen as a result.
The report warns that a humanitarian crisis is in the offing and should the current financial crisis persist, violence will rise with the breakdown of discipline among unpaid security personnel -- and the government may stop functioning altogether.
Member nations of the European Union are reportedly exploring ways to transfer funds to PA areas while bypassing the Hamas government in order to provide humanitarian aid. Jordan recently sent several thousand tons of food and medical supplies to Gaza as well.
On Monday, Israeli Arabs transferred 250 tons of food and medical supplies from Israeli trucks to PA vehicles waiting on the other side of the crossing at the Jalama checkpoint just north of Jenin.
The food drive was organized by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee and Israeli Arab volunteers, with collected items handed over to humanitarian groups for distribution primarily in Jenin, Shechem and villages located next to the new security fence. The group asked the Israeli government to allow a similar transfer to PA Arabs in Gaza but has not yet received a green light to do so
Its coffers empty since the landslide victory of Hamas, the PA has not paid its workers in two months. Political prisoners sitting in Israeli jails have had their monthly stipends cut from NIS 1,000 to less than NIS 100.
Prisoners and their guards are allegedly without food, a claim confirmed by PA Police Chief General Ala Husseini in a report published in the London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Quds al-Arabi. Ala Husseini said that prisoners and guards have not had any food for two days and relatives are being told to bring food from home to feed them. The PA is considering releasing many prisoners due to its inability to provide food.
Banks in PA-controlled territories are refusing to deal with the PA government for fear of violating U.S. anti-terror laws, severely curtailing its ability to collect and use the funds sent from Arab countries.
The U.S. and other Western nations cut off foreign aid and other funding mechanisms since the terror organization took over the government. They maintain the freeze will continue until Hamas agrees to formally recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounces terrorism and upholds peace agreements negotiated by the previous PA government.
Hamas remains adamant that it will not do so, despite the growing destitution of its constituency and the desperation of humanitarian groups who are watching the process unfold.
According to the World Bank report, the PA is heading for its worst year “in recent economic history”, with dire predictions of what will happen as a result.
The report warns that a humanitarian crisis is in the offing and should the current financial crisis persist, violence will rise with the breakdown of discipline among unpaid security personnel -- and the government may stop functioning altogether.
Member nations of the European Union are reportedly exploring ways to transfer funds to PA areas while bypassing the Hamas government in order to provide humanitarian aid. Jordan recently sent several thousand tons of food and medical supplies to Gaza as well.
On Monday, Israeli Arabs transferred 250 tons of food and medical supplies from Israeli trucks to PA vehicles waiting on the other side of the crossing at the Jalama checkpoint just north of Jenin.
The food drive was organized by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee and Israeli Arab volunteers, with collected items handed over to humanitarian groups for distribution primarily in Jenin, Shechem and villages located next to the new security fence. The group asked the Israeli government to allow a similar transfer to PA Arabs in Gaza but has not yet received a green light to do so