As 2012 draws to a close, it is difficult to be optimistic. While the Palestinians experienced temporary euphoria last month when they gained non-membership statehood status at the UN, the euphoria quickly waned as government coffers and employee pockets were drained of cash. Not only that – the modest contribution from Arab League member states, pledged just weeks ago has yet to arrive. The Palestinian government, plagued with public servant strikes and empty food baskets, have been delivered yet another blow, this time from those supposedly closest to them. Earlier in the month, the Arab “Follow- Up” Committee met and agreed to provide the Palestinian Authority with a monthly stipend of $100 million as part of the so-called safety net. This was the second time this money was pledged, the first time during the Arab League Summit in Baghdad in March. The leaders promised that should Israel withhold the PA’s tax revenues after President Abbas gains statehood status at the UN, they would step up to the plate, covering at least some of the budget deficit so the PA could continue to pay salaries and offer services to the people. On Saturday, Arab League Chief Nabil Al Arabi visited Ramallah along with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamal Amr and met with President Mahmoud Abbas. While the leaders said all the right things, showing their “brotherly” affiliation to one another, the elephant in the room was the absent funds from Arab countries. When he finally did address the issue, Al Arabi could not give a sufficient answer as to why countries have not yet paid up, simply saying that, “unfortunately nothing has been achieved yet." He said, however, that he would continue to urge the Arab countries to meet their financial commitments toward the Palestinians. Palestinian officials are unsurprisingly suspicious that invisible hands are at play, namely American hands, accusing some [unnamed] Arab countries of kowtowing to American pressures not to replenish the Palestinian government’s empty coffers. This is a reasonable assumption but not one that has yet been proven. The US has been very vocal in its opposition to the UN resolution making Palestine a non-member state and everyone knows its relationship with Israel. With those two factors working against the Palestinians, it seems almost expected that the US had a hand in the delayed funds. This is besides all of the everyday drama on the ground. As Israel continues unabated with settlement building and land confiscation, Palestinians officials in Gaza and the West Bank continue to struggle to find common ground. If there is optimism towards anything for 2013, it is for reconciliation, for no other reason than the fact that this fate is completely in Palestinian hands. The beginning of a new year is always associated with new beginnings. While the going is getting very tough for Palestinians, especially financially, their love for Palestine will always keep them going. 2013 may be just as difficult as the outgoing 2012 but at least this year the word Palestine is an official title and not just a geographic entity of the past or a sentimental name we hold close so we Palestinians never forget. No, Palestine is real and recognized by the overwhelming majority of the world. It may be occupied, it may be cash-strapped and it may be riddled with illegal settlements. But Palestine exists on the ground, on paper and in our hearts. And that is enough. Joharah Baker is a Writer for the Media and Information Department at the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). She can be contacted at mid@miftah.org.
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