World Bank transfers $25 million to PA
The World Bank on Monday transferred $25 million to the Palestinian Authority to assist with urgent budget needs, a statement from the global financial body said.
Pope Francis, American churches, and Palestinian rights
Pope Francis’ September 2015 visit to the US will doubtless reinforce his reach to the new audiences he has attracted beyond the Catholic Church with his strong positions on such issues as the environment, poverty, migrants – and Palestinian rights to freedom and equality.
Corruption in Palestine: A self-enforcing system
Tariq Dana makes the case that corruption is structural to the Palestinian body politic and pre-dates the establishment of the Palestinian Authority.
Participation in Work Force by Palestinian Women among Lowest in World
The Palestinian research organization Al-Shabaka reports that while the rate throughout the Arab world is 25%, only 19.4% of Palestinian women are in the work force. By way of comparison, the global average is 51%.
Report: Palestinian female labor participation among world’s lowest
The low rates come despite high education rates among Palestinian women, Al-Shabaka policy adviser Samia al-Botmeh notes in her report, adding that Palestinian women have higher primary and secondary enrollment levels than males in the entire Middle East and North Africa.
Nadia Hijab: EU alarmed by Israel, frustrated by Palestine
Palestine is on hold. No diplomatic moves, such as the proposed French Security Council resolution, are expected to go ahead until after the United States seals an agreement with Iran. Yet there are still long-term trends at work.
One year of failed unity in Palestine
Alaa Tartir, program director at Al-Shabaka says “Western and Gulf aid helped in entrenching, sustaining and subsidising the divide between Hamas and Fatah, which is harmful for the Palestinian people and their struggle for self-determination. It also created a cheap Palestinian internal divide,
Israel, Hamas Escape U.N.’s List of Shame on Attacks on Children
Nadia Hijab, executive director of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, told IPS that Ban Ki-moon clearly succumbed to U.S. and Israeli pressure by not naming Israel or Hamas in the so-called “List of Shame” despite urging by rights groups such as Human Rights Watch.
UK student union pro-BDS vote causes major stir in Israel
Alaa Tartir, programme director at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, said what might appear to be a sudden Israeli push back is, in fact, a strategy that started with the first intifada when Palestinians called for Israeli boycotts. The country has dedicated budgets and teams to combatting BDS for years because officials believe it poses a serious threat, Tartir said.
