Word: gaza
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Symbolically and economically, the West Bank is much more important to the Palestinians -- and the Israelis -- than is the Gaza Strip. Given the approach of this new phase of Palestinian self-determination, and given the wobbly but undeniable progress toward a secure peace that the Palestinians and Israelis have made since they signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, it might be expected that Arafat would display some joy and satisfaction these days. But he appears more fatigued than exhilarated, more fatalistic than hopeful. And the same can be said for his people...
...understand why that is so, and to get a sense of what the near future holds for the West Bank, one need only look at the experience of Palestinian self-rule so far. When Arafat entered the Gaza Strip, he and his aides raised expectations to an absurd height. The initial euphoria was sure to ebb, but Gazans could reasonably have hoped for competence and fairness, pride in their new government and a sense of momentum toward statehood. Instead they have seen organizational anarchy, corruption and autocracy. Meanwhile, the realization is sinking in that the Israelis will exercise some control...
...govern the Gaza Strip and Jericho, Arafat established the Palestinian Authority, patched together from previously exiled bureaucrats in the P.L.O. and from the organization's ranks of underground activists in the occupied territories. Israel has been stingy about relinquishing real power to Arafat-strictly controlling who and what go in and out of the self-rule zones-but on its own terms, the Authority, with its 18 ministers, 22,000 civil servants and 18,500 security personnel, has performed far less well than had been hoped, as Authority officials themselves acknowledge. "How can we convince people...
...result of Arafat's administration, government services in many cases have deteriorated in the past year. A letter mailed within the tiny Gaza Strip now takes a week to arrive instead of two days. The phone system is a mess, because the Palestinian Authority has added twice as many lines as it was designed for. Building construction is so unregulated that Arafat's own Planning Ministry warns of a "forthcoming disaster''; the Authority manages to collect even less in taxes than the Israelis did, and the security forces especially have developed a reputation for petty corruption. A common complaint...
...Gaza Strip is perennially poor, and the economy's biggest problem right now is that last fall, as a result of a series of Palestinian terrorist attacks, the Israeli government placed restrictions on trade with the territories and the number of Palestinian laborers who can cross into Israel each day for work. Nevertheless, Arafat and the Authority can still be held responsible for economic mismanagement. The Authority has failed to attract significant new investments, aside from those in construction made mostly by Palestinians. Infrastructure projects sponsored by international donors are under way, but disagreements over Arafat's loose accounting practices...