Countering economic dependence and de-development in the occupied Palestinian territory

Executive summary

This report proposes a rights-based policy framework as a path towards countering the de-development of the Palestinian economy and its dependence on Israel.

The policy framework proposed in this report advocates an alternative approach to the largely ineffective, donor-supported approach that has prioritized security, political and territorial considerations over the application of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory. The proposed approach instead prioritizes the attainment of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, recognizing these rights as prerequisite to development. The proposed policy framework is based on the following three pillars: (1) disengaging the Palestinian economy from Israel; (2) empowering the Palestinian private sector; and (3) advocating a rights-based approach to achieving the first two pillars.

The first pillar of the policy framework aims to reduce the decades-long chronic dependence of the Palestinian economy on Israel. The second pillar aims to mitigate de-development in the occupied Palestinian territory and its socioeconomic consequences by empowering the private sector.

The third pillar entails employing a rights-based approach towards the Palestinian economy that prioritizes the application of international law, including the attainment of Palestinian individual and collective rights, with the right to self-determination being the ultimate goal. This pillar lies at the heart of the policy framework proposed within this report. It constitutes the main driving force that would make possible the realization of the key policy goals under the first two pillars. The right to self-determination must be the guiding principle for all development and assistance policy work - without it no meaningful and sustained change can be expected.

A two-track policy agenda is proposed to operationalize each pillar of the policy framework and transform it into an action plan. The first track addresses short-term issues of immediate concern and the second relates to long-term strategic issues.

For a rights-based approach to be realized and yield results, the following conditions are required:

• Palestinian ownership and commitment - without the endorsement of the Palestinian people and their institutions, first and foremost, and the willingness of the international community to support such a strategic shift in direction, the proposed rights-based course to Palestinian development will be hard to implement.

• The identification of short- and long-term priorities to be addressed within the context of a rights-based approach.

• The articulation of a rights-based policy agenda once priority issues are identified and clearly defined.