Palestinian Delegation to Present AHLC Meeting with Action Plan for Development in Area C, Demand Removal of Israeli Restrictions
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will head the Palestinian delegation to the spring meeting of the ad-hoc liaison committee of donor countries, due to convene in Brussels on 19 March 2013. The delegation will present a report outlining the vital importance of removing all imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement and economic activity in Area 'C', including East Jerusalem in order for the Palestinian people to exercise their right to development and exercise sovereignty over the territory of the State of Palestine.
Area 'C' is an integral part of the State of Palestine (the backbone of the Palestinian economy) and makes up approximately 64% of the West Bank. It remains under full and direct Israeli military control.
The report includes an action plan that concentrates on the sectors of agriculture, water, trade and transportation, and tourism, whose contribution to the economy would be exponentially higher if the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation were not imposed.
The meeting will also focus on ways to confront the deepening financial crisis confronting the Government of the State of Palestine, including strengthening its fiscal sustainability, improving the regularity and predictability of financial resources, as well as the grave consequences of the shortfall in aid, which was 694 million USD in 2012, as well as Israel's repeated use of withholding tax revenues as a tool of politicalblackmail. The Palestinian report will also present its vision on increasing private sector-led growth, promoting unhindered access and movement throughout the territory of the State of Palestine, facilitating exports of Palestinian goods and lifting the inhumane siege on the Gaza Strip.
The UN, the World Bank, the IMF and the Office of the Quartet Representative will also present their reports in order to assess any further developments on the matter since the committee's lastmeeting in September 2012.
The Government Media Center will circulate a summary of the Palestinian document, entitled "Palestine, A State Under Occupation" on 19 March.