Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said yesterday that the Palestinian territories are on the verge of total collapse. Ashrawi is a member of the
Palestinian Legislative Council as a member of the
Third Way party.
Speaking to a mixed group of Americans of both Arab and Jewish backgrounds at a private home in Philadelphia, Ashrawi said that the unemployment level in the territories has climbed to 75% and that conditions in the territories have deteriorated to an unprecedented level. She said the situation for residents of the West Bank and Gaza has never been so grim.
Conditions have deteriorated so much because funds from Israel, the United States and other nations have been withheld. The Palestinian Authority cannot pay the salaries of its employees, which used to trickle down through a large segment of the economy. Many people do not have money to even pay for food and water. There is a recent
interview with Dr. Ashrawi in the April issue of
The Progressive.
Ashrawi spoke at a fundraiser for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, an organization that transports Palestinian children to Europe or the United States for medical treatment that they cannot get in the territories and are not permitted to travel to Israel to get. Even though Israeli hospitals such as Hadassah would treat these children if the children could get there, travel to Israel is impossible due to travel restrictions. Ashrawi mentioned that scores of women have given birth at Israeli checkpoints because of those travel restrictions.
Ashrawi said that Hamas was elected in January mostly to punish Fatah for incompetence and corruption. She cited very low numbers of voters that voted for Hamas because of its political position against Israel or because of its religious positions. Most, she said, voted for Hamas as a vote against Fatah. She said she thought Hamas leaders were also surprised that they had won so widely.
Ashrawi reported that in some localities where Hamas members had been elected to local government positions in prior elections, the Hamas candidates lost in the national elections in January. They lost, she said, because of the restrictive social policies they put in place in those localities.
Ashrawi also said that she thought Hamas had changed its tune since it was elected. She said she expected Hamas to pursue practical solutions, to work in phases, and to follow a long-term cease-fire. A large concern of hers is about what kind of a society Hamas will try to build. For example, will it be restrictive of women's rights?
In response to questions, Ashrawi said that Palestinians and Israelis were not permitted to meet together in either Israel or the territories to forge understanding and to work together for peace. They have to travel elsewhere to do that, so hosts for such talks are needed.
Ashrawi said that negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians stopped when Ariel Sharon was elected and that she doesn't think Israel and the Palestinians can solve the conflict alone. She believes a third party needs to be involved to find a solution.
(Full disclosure A friend, who is a member of a progressive synagogue in Philadelphia, told me about this private event and forwarded an invitation to me. My ethnic background is neither Arab nor Jewish. Since this was a private event, I specifically asked Dr. Ashrawi as she was leaving whether it would be okay to report on what she said for a progressive blog and she replied, "of course.")