American Aid to Arab East Jerusalem: Between Political Principle and Working Practice

Although the United States of America did not officially recognize the unification of Jerusalem, and considers East Jerusalem an occupied region — like the rest of the regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — its behavior differs completely from this avowal of reality, especially in regards to American aid for the Palestinian people.

Many projects we have heard about and seen are actually implemented in the Palestinian Authority areas, and we have seen the illustrations in front of us: this school was set up with support from the American Agency for International Development (USAID), or that building and this road — as well as other projects. Throughout the past 15 years, this aid agency has spent a sum of almost $1.4 billion, most of which was invested in the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority areas, but there has certainly been no American aid project serving the residents of Arab Jerusalem. There was no creation of infrastructure or improvement of the standing infrastructure, although the residents of Jerusalem make up approximately 10 percent of the Palestinians under occupation!

There is a severe shortage in schools and classrooms in Jerusalem, more severe than in the West Bank undoubtedly, yet we hear that American aid built many schools in the Bank — but which ones were built in Jerusalem? Has the American relief agency thought someday of offering aid to Arab residents of Jerusalem to build a school there? I think not, even though they know that 7,000 children of school age did not find seats in the schools of Jerusalem, 70 percent of which are managed by Israeli authorities.

In an economic development conference on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, held by USAID in Jericho last week, the word “Jerusalem” was absent from the words of the American speakers and locals as well — just as it was absent from the title of the conference, which selected the West Bank and Gaza Strip as the only subjects, without Jerusalem. And this is what made me wonder in amazement about the reason for my invitation to the conference.

One of the themes and workshops was Opportunities for Promoting the Tourist Sector, as if the tourist sector in the West Bank and Gaza strip is an economic sector unconnected with Jerusalem, and organizers of the conference were not aware that tourism in the West Bank is a secondary result of tourism in Jerusalem. Also, less than half of the tourists that visit the Holy Land and Jerusalem visit Bethlehem, and less than a quarter visit Jericho. And it is certainly impossible to support the tourism industry in the West Bank without there being a stronger foundation to depend on in Jerusalem. And we know that an inspection of the basis for tourism in the Holy Land, which is unable to carry the increase in incoming regiments of tourists, is what led to the rerouting of extra tourists from hotels in Jerusalem to hotels in the West Bank!

Just as the strong tie between Jerusalem and the shore applies to the tourist sector, it applies in one form or another to the manufacturing and the commercial sectors. Here the markets of Jerusalem must contain Palestinian produce, with the Israeli authorities preventing entry of these products, which raises the cost of living in Jerusalem above those in the West Bank. For example, the prices of eggs in the West Bank are 40 percent less than the prices of Israeli eggs, with Israel forcing us to eat eggs from Jerusalem — not to mention Arab dairy products and medicines and other things that do not reach us in Jerusalem.

As for the financial and investment sector, Arab Jerusalem is the city most in need of investment, for in the last 16 years, all of the Palestinian cities witnessed a gigantic investment boom, while Arab Jerusalem remained in the same condition; as anyone who has not seen it in 30 years remembers it.

Does the American policy in the field of supporting the Palestinians except those in Jerusalem include keeping pace with the occupation and encouraging it to continue its attempts to Judaize Jerusalem and put pressure on its Arab residents to willingly emigrate? Merely a question…