Scandals erupted in the realm of international aid this quarter. In 6/2016, Israeli forces had arrested Mohammad El Halabi, the Gaza director of the Christian charity World Vision. El Halabi was interrogated for over 50 days, and after they extracted confessions from him, the Israeli authorities accused (8/4) him of diverting $43 m. to Hamas’s military wing. World Vision CEO Kevin Jenkins responded with a statement (8/8) that his organization’s Gaza budget had been around $22.5 m. over the course of the previous 10 years, so it was very unlikely El Halabi had committed the alleged crimes. As the international community criticized Israel for cracking down on an aid group, Israel’s Shin Bet announced (8/9) that a UN Development Programme (UNDP) employee in Gaza, Wahid Abdullah, had been arrested (7/3) for transporting 300 tons of rubble from a UNDP site to a Hamas site on orders from a Hamas official. The UNDP mounted a less aggressive defense of its employee, stating (8/9) that it had “robust measures in place to ensure that the rubble . . . goes to its intended purpose,” and that it would “cooperate fully with the authorities in this matter.”
Meanwhile, international pledges of support for the Palestinians continued to come in. The EU announced (6/5) a €15.0 m. (approx. $17 m.) contribution to the PA for the payment of 5/2016 salaries and pensions, and provided (6/23) €154,000 (approx. $173,725) to support farmers and agriculture in the West Bank. At a ceremony on 6/14, an EU delegation marked the end of the 1st stage of construction on an EU-funded water desalination plant in Dayr al-Balah (Gaza), where work began in 3/2014. The EU officials also pledged an additional €10 m. (approximately $13.7 m.) for the 2d phase of construction, allowing the plant to double the amount of water processed daily from 6,000 to 12,000 m3 . Meanwhile, the World Bank announced transfers of $55 m. (6/28) and $30 m. (7/12) for Palestinian development in the oPt and for the PA’s budget needs, including macroeconomic and public financial management reforms.
Further support came through UNRWA. In particular, the U.S. pledged $51.6 m. (6/30), $68 m. (7/15), and $25 m. (7/26) to the agency’s 2016 oPt and Syria emergency appeals, and for schools in Jordan, respectively. UNRWA also announced major pledges from Austria (€1 m. or approximately $1.1 m.) and Denmark (DKK 30 m. or approximately $4.46 m.) on 7/28 and 7/1.
There was no meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Comm. this quarter.