Since the Oslo I Accord was signed in 1993, international donors have expended more than $50bn in foreign aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). That funding has been channelled through a western development model that was designed, at least on the surface, to foster Palestinian economic and institutional development.
But the model explicitly ignored the colonial nature of Israel’s rule – the inherent devastation caused by rapacious colonial structures of control – and put the onus of peace-building on the backs of the Palestinians, requiring them to change to meet nebulous standards of development defined by Israel’s closest western allies before peace would be allowed to take hold.
Palestinians should view western donor aid with deep suspicion given the West’s long track record of favouring Israel’s perceived interests at the expense of Palestinians. This could mean rejecting western donors who refuse to be transparent or to do no harm in occupied Palestine.
Published at The Middle East Eye, 21 July 2023
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Alaa Tartir, Program Director of Al-Shabaka, Engaged Scholar, Global Citizen 