Michael Keating

Robert Lowe

Anne Le More

This volume reviews the lessons that can be drawn from external funding for the Israeli-Palestinian peace and reconstruction process over the last decade. What are the implications —for Palestinians, Israelis, and international actors —of this experience in light of plans for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip? What are the realistic possibilities for a viable Palestinian state? What are the responsibilities, opportunities, and constraints for external actors?A major aspect of the last decade has been the three-way relationship between aid, diplomacy, and "facts on the ground" during one of the most difficult and frustrating periods in the history of the Middle East. This book offers analyses of the relationship between aid and diplomacy over this period and in particular the role that external assistance has played — and could now play —in supporting peace strategies.Aimed at senior policymakers, diplomats, donors, and academics involved in the peace and reconstruction process in the West Bank and Gaza, Aid, Diplomacy, and Facts on the Ground will also provide lessons for those involved in similar processes in other regions. Contributors include Yossi Alpher (Bitter Lemons), Geoffrey Aronson (Foundation for Middle East Peace), Christian Berger (External Relations Directorate General, EC), Rex Brynen (McGill University), Claude Bruderlein (Harvard University), Larry Garber (former USAID Mission Director, Jerusalem), Eyad El Sarraj (Gaza Community and Mental Health Hospital), Jeff Halper (Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions), Mustaq Khan (SOAS), Karma Nabulsi (Nuffield College, Oxford University), Harish Parvathaneni (UNRWA, Gaza), Nigel Roberts (World Bank, Jerusalem), Sarah Roy (Harvard University), Nader Said (Birzeit University), David Shearer (OCHA, Jerusalem), and Jimmy Weinblatt (Ben Gurion University).

The Case of Palestine

Aid, Diplomacy and Facts on the Ground

Why has the West disbursed vertiginous sums of money to the Palestinians after Oslo? What have been donors’ motivations and above all the political consequences of the funds spent? Based on original academic research and first hand evidence, this book examines the interface between diplomacy and international assistance during the Oslo years and the intifada. By exploring the politics of international aid to the Palestinians between the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the death of President Arafat (1994-2004), Anne Le More reveals the reasons why foreign aid was not more beneficial, uncovering a context where funds from the international community was poured into the occupied Palestinian territory as a substitute for its lack of real diplomatic engagement. This book also highlights the perverse effects such huge amounts of money has had on the Palestinian population and territory, on Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, and not least on the conflict itself, particularly the prospect of its resolution along a two-state paradigm. International Assistance to the Palestinians after Oslo gives a unique narrative chronology that makes this complex story easy to understand. These features make this book a classic read for both scholars and practitioners, with lessons to be learned beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Anne Le More

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