1. Background Until 1980 the European Community aid to the Palestinian population, whether inside or outside of the Occupied Territories, was limited to the refugees. From 1971 on there had been a cooperation with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) which was and still is formally translated into Conventions. Between 1971 and 1980 the total amount of this aid was $ 132 million. In 1981 a new approach for the benefit of the Palestinian population started consisting of direct Community aid under different budget lines which until 1986 reached a total of ecu 8.98 million. From 1987 on there has been a specific budget line (now Article B7-406) for direct development aid to the Occupied Territories. 2. Guidelines for Community action Community action is based on the 1980 Venice declaration: support of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338; the right of Palestinians to self-determination; the right of all states in the area to live in security and peace. The 1986 Council guidelines defined the main principles of the Community attitude towards the Palestinian population and Israel with regard to the Occupied Territories : a) Aid will benefit the Palestinian population of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. b) Aid will be implemented without the Community seeking approval from the Israeli authorities. c) The Community will avoid actions that relieve the Israeli Government of its responsibility to maintain and develop the infrastructure of the Occupied Territories. d) Community aid will aim at improving and strengthening the economic, social and productive sectors. In the 1989 European Council declaration of Strasbourg the Community and its member States strongly confirmed their previous position and emphasized their commitment to support the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories. Education and health were singled out as areas to which particular attention should be devoted. Therefore, Community actions are concentrated in the following areas : - small-scale employment-generating projects or measures in the agricultural and industrial sectors, in particular by giving support to measures in the agricultural sector which would increase food self- sufficiency - education/training, particularly in the vocational and technical fields; - upgrading of local Palestinian institutions, such as Arab-run Municipalities, Universities and Colleges, professional organisations, etc. particularly through linkages with similar institutions in the European Community, in-country training, seminars. 3. Management Since the matter of the Community representation in the Occupied Territories is not settled, the only way to evaluate, monitor and control the direct aid programme is by management from the Commission headquarters in Brussels. The Community delegation in Tel Aviv cannot ensure this management since it is accredited before the Israeli government and the Occupied Territories do not fall under the sovereignty of the Israeli State. 4. Description Community aid to the Occupied Territories has four main headings: a) Aid to refugees through UNRWA. This takes place mostly through contributions to the regular UNRWA budget, which are spent on education, health and food aid programmes. In the years 1971 to 1992 this aid amounted to about ecu 518 million. It is for all refugees, even those who are not living in the Occupied Territories. Since the latter represent approximately 38 percent of the total, we can estimate that under this heading, aid specifically to the Occupied Teeritories amounted to about ecu 197 million for 1971-1992. b) Aid through co-financing with European Non Gouvernemental Organisations. In 1979-1992 the total amount contributed by the Commission was ecu 12.6 million. This was equivalent to a 38.4 percent contribution to projects for a total value of over ecu 32 million. c) Direct development aid under budget lines B7-406 and B7-701. This amounted in 1991 to ecu 70 million (including ecu 60 million exceptional aid subsequent to the Gulf War) and in 1992 to ecu 17 million (including ecu 5 million exceptional aid). The figure for 1993 will be ecu 15 million. The total amount devoted to these lines from 1987 up to 1993 is ecu 119 million. d) Aid to promote direct Palestinian exports from the Occupied Territories to Community markets. These were made possible in 1988 thanks to pressure from the European Parliament, following an initiative from the Commission. The Community is financing technical assistance through two agricultural experts, one for the Gaza Strip and one for the West Bank. Exports increased fivefold by volume from the first to the second season. After a decrease in the third season due to the Gulf war and in the fourth season due to severe winter conditions, the prospects for the fifth season (1992/93) are better since the Community has considerably increased the volume of short-term export loans. Apart from these four headings, the European Community has provided Emergency and exceptional aid interventions : - ecu 370,000 was granted in February 1990 for intifadah-related injuries through UNRWA; - ecu 500,000 was allocated in May 1990 through MSF and UNRWA to relieve medical needs as a consequence of the Rishon Lezion massacre and subsequent incidents; - In December 1990 ecu 4.5 million emergency aid were approved by the Community to support the running costs of private Palestinian hospitals through the Dutch Red Cross. - In 1992 ecu 15.2 million were granted for food aid through UNRWA. * * *
