How much international aid does Palestine receive?
General Reference (not clearly pro or con)
The Jewish Virtual Library, in its website's "Fact Sheets # 27: The Palestinian Money Trail" section (accessed Sep. 29, 2006) offered the following:
"Since
the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993, the U.S. government has
committed more than $1.3 billion in economic assistance to the West Bank
and Gaza Strip.
Since the end of 2000, Arab states have transferred to the Palestinian
Authority monthly financial aid of $45 million (since April 2002 this
sum was increased to $55 million). The European Union (EU) transfers to
the PA approximately $9 million monthly. By the end of 2001, the
Palestinians had received $4 billion (the figure is now closer to $5.5
billion) since the 1993 Oslo agreements.
This is the
equivalent of $1,330 per Palestinian. By comparison, the Marshall Plan
to rebuild Europe after World War II provided $272 per European (in
today's
dollars)."
The CIA - World Factbook, as of Sep. 27, 2006, estimated the amount of economic aid received by the West Bank and Gaza Strip and explained the methodology used to arrive at its estimate:
"Economic aid - recipient: $2
Billion from US (2004 est.)" [Total contributions
over 50 + years] "This entry [economic aid estimate],
which is subject to major problems of definition and statistical
coverage, refers to the net inflow of Official Development Finance (ODF)
to recipient countries. The figure includes assistance from the World
Bank, the IMF, and other international organizations and from individual
nation donors. Formal commitments of aid are included in the data.
Omitted from the data are grants by private organizations. Aid comes in
various forms including outright grants and loans. The entry thus is the
difference between new inflows and repayments. These figures are
calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power
parity (PPP) terms."
The European Union (EU), in a section on its website (accessed Sep. 26, 2006) titled "The EU's Relations with West Bank and Gaza Strip," stated the following:
"Since the outbreak of the second Intifada in
September 2000... the European Community shifted
much of its assistance from more long-term institution-building to badly
needed humanitarian assistance and support to refugees through the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)... The Council of
the European Union, together with the European Parliament, endorsed the
use of budget support in this context."
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA), in its website's "Finances" section (accessed Sep. 22, 2006) offered the following:
Pledges and Contributions to UNRWA (US
Dollars)
Country
2005
2006 (Jan-June)
Australia
$7,886,480
$5,974,732
Austria
$2,760,824
$1,922,680
Bahrain
$30,000
$30,000
Belgium
$3,648,282
$3,701,799
Belgium
(Flanders)
$432,773
$0
Bulgaria
$0
$10,000
Canada
$10,103,496
$22,877,698
Chile
$5,000
$0
China
$80,000
$80,000
Colombia
$5,995
$4,143
Cyprus
$30,900
$66,815
Czech
Republic
$60,835
$66,815
Denmark
$11,380,619
$11,209,098
Finland
$4,586,866
$3,105,590
France
$8,345,397
$9,717,326
Germany
$7,197,633
$1,285,347
Greece
$400,000
$411,311
Holy
See
$20,000
$20,000
Iceland
$53,467
$0
India
$20,000
$20,000
Ireland
$2,406,130
$1,813,785
Italy
$2,402,944
$116,733
Japan
$30,101,034
$4,310,345
Jordan
$657,850
$336,226
Republic of
Korea
$109,014
$100,000
Kuwait
$1,499,972
$1,500,000
Lebanon
$7,150
$10,000
Liechtenstein
$0
$22,599
Luxembourg
$2,199,224
$2,315,298
Malaysia
$25,000
$25,000
Malta
$12,000
$0
Mexico
$8,000
$0
Monaco
$5,000
$5,000
Morocco
$0
$24,918
Namibia
$1,000
$0
Netherlands
$27,366,736
$15,164,524
New
Zealand
$213,600
$204,900
Norway
$31,339,597
$26,568,933
Pakistan
$0
$17,468
Palestine
$2,662,819
$811,192
Poland
$20,000
$0
Portugal
$100,000
$100,000
Quatar
$35,000
$0
Saudi
Arabia
$20,000,000
$0
South
Africa
$173,913
$159,212
Spanish
Kingdom
$6,540,619
$8,997,429
Spain
(Catalonia)
$451,694
$538,343
Spain
(Valencia)
$0
$223,235
Sweden
$39,077,507
$34,727,871
Switzerland
$9,857,284
$8,042,949
Syria
$154,681
$52,440
Thailand
$30,000
$30,000
Tunisia
$9,909
$9,160
Turkey
$400,000
$500,000
UAE
$500,000
$500,000
United
Kingdom
$28,651,303
$26,455,118
USA
$108,000,000
$135,000,000
Total Governments
$372,067,547
$329,119,217
European
Commission
$123,041,805
$90,484,526
Arab
Governments Fund
$150,000
$0
Total Independent Government
$123,191,805
$90,484,526
UN
$19,008,400
$17,927,674
UN
Agencies
$1,289,655
$454,918
UN Human Security Trust Fund (Contributed by
Japan)
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), in a Oct. 10, 2003 report titled "Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United States," provided the following:
"The United States contributes to UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East] through the refugee and migration account, authorized in the State Department authorization bill and appropriated through the foreign operations appropriations bill."
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), in a Feb. 2, 2006 report titled "U.S. Aid to the Palestinians," provided the following:
"In fiscal
year 2005, the Bush Administration and Congress
significantly increased U.S. economic aid to the Palestinians through
supplemental appropriations and by reprogramming economic aid that had
been appropriated in previous years. President Bush also used
his authority to provide $50 million in direct assistance to the
Palestinian Authority, marking only the fourth time a U.S. president
has used a congressionally authorized waiver to channel aid away from the
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programs and directly to the
Palestinian Authority."
Table. US
Assistance to the Palestinians, FY2002-FY2006 (Regular & Supplemental Appropriations;
Current Year in $ dollars)