Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Board of Deputies of British Jews
SYNOPSIS
— The Board of Deputies of British
Jews is the representative organisation of UK Jewry. The Board
is involved in interfaith activities in the UK and supports efforts
to facilitate peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.
The information provided is based on either our understanding
of the situation or information supplied to us by the Israeli
authorities.
— The purpose of this paper is to assist
the International Development Select Committee by addressing questions
arising out of the Board's submission to the Committee and the
evidence given by Henry Grunwald QC, President of the Board of
Deputies of British Jews, on 31 October 2006. Accordingly, it
addresses the following subject areas:
1. The payment of the frozen tax revenues
through the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM).
2. The situation with regard to the
Erez Crossing.
3. Palestinian fishing in the Mediterranean
off the coast of Gaza.
4. Offers of assistance by the Government
of Israel to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
5. Palestinian access to Jerusalem
from the West Bank.
PREFACE
The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the
representative organisation of the Jewish Community in the United
Kingdom—a role which it assumed in 1760. It is involved
in interfaith activities in the UK and supports efforts to facilitate
peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis. It is
important to note that as the representative organisation of British
Jewry, the Board does not speak on behalf of the State of Israel—a
fact that created some confusion amongst Select Committee members
during the oral evidence session on 31 October. Therefore, the
information provided in this submission is based on either our
understanding of the situation or position of the Government of
Israel, or information supplied to us by the Israeli authorities.
In our view, as was already stated in our original
submission, a central obstacle to progress in both the establishment
of peace and stability, and in the advancing of the quality of
life for Israelis and Palestinians is Hamas' refusal to abide
by the criteria set by the international Quartet. These criteria
require Hamas to recognise Israel's right to exist, abandon terrorism
and adhere to and recognise previous agreements between Israel
and the Palestinians. However, whilst this refusal to accept the
criteria has unquestionably had ramifications on the circumstances
of ordinary Palestinians, the current situation is also very much
the product of years of corruption within the Palestinian Authority.
RESPONSES TO
QUESTIONS (RAISED
DURING ORAL
EVIDENCE SESSION,
31 OCTOBER 2006)
1. Would it be appropriate for Israel to
pay the frozen tax revenues through the Temporary International
Mechanism (TIM) as has been suggested by the EU General Affairs
Council? If not, why? (Joan Ruddock)
1.1 This specific question requires a statement
of policy as its answer—one which can only be made by the
Government of Israel. As such, it would be improper for the Board
of Deputies to make a statement of policy. Therefore, all we can
offer by way of an answer is an opinion.
1.2 We believe that the 1995 Interim Agreement
between Israel and the PLO states that Israel has responsibility
over the international commerce of both Israelis and Palestinians.
Accordingly, customs revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinians
are to be transferred to the PA governing body. Israel adhered
to its obligations under this agreement until such time when the
Hamas administration stated that it did not recognise this agreement,
along with other past agreements, and would not adhere to its
obligations under it.
1.3 If Israel was to now transfer the funds
to the governing body of the PA under Hamas, there is no assurance
that this money would not be used in financing terrorism or incitement
to terror. Indeed, without transparency and sufficient international
scrutiny, there is every reason to fear that funding will be used
for terrorist activity. Moreover, by transferring the funds, Israel
would be in breach of international arrangements and laws prohibiting
the funding of terrorism.
1.4 In the future, if Hamas is still in
power and verifiably abides by the internationally set criteria
and asks the Government of Israel to transfer money to the Palestinian
Authority (PA) via the TIM then it could be possible that funds
held in trusteeship by the Government of Israel on behalf of the
PA in accordance with previously signed agreement will be passed
across using that mechanism.
1.5 Additionally, it should be borne in
mind that ultimately, the original objective of TIM was to provide
a "social safety net" to offer needs-based allowances
to the Palestinian people. TIM was also created as a temporary
mechanism and was not a permanent solution. Indeed, on creation
it was only set up to transfer a specific amount of funding per
year.
2. The Welfare Association submitted evidence
to the Select Committee suggesting that the Erez Crossing was
completely closed between 25 August to 25 September 2006 and the
Board submitted evidence suggesting that it was actually open
for at least eight days. In real terms, was it open for eight
full days? Who was allowed to cross? Was the crossing open to
everyone who wanted to go through it? Were internationals, effectively,
the only people who were allowed to cross? In general is the Erez
Crossing intended for people, or goods or both and when has it
been open and closed in recent months? (Richard Burden)
2.1 During this period Erez was open for
eight full working days (Friday would be a half day). The crossing
would be open to those not subject to restrictions on their movement
for security reasons.
2.2 When fully functioning, we understand
that as apart from regular workers, the Erez Crossing is used
for diplomatic staff, NGOs, IGOs, journalists, humanitarian staff,
medical workers, lawyers, and PA officials subject to the Israel
Defence Force's (IDF) Coordination of Government Activity in the
Territories Unit (COGAT) advice. In addition, Erez is employed
in the transfer of mail, and money under Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) regulations. The crossing is open from 7 am to 7
pm Monday-Thursday and half day on Friday.
2.3 In relation to the other crossings,
Karni is used to transfer goods with priority given to medical
and humanitarian materials. Nahal Oz is used for the transfer
of petrol, diesel and gas, whilst the Sufa Crossing is primarily
used for humanitarian aid.
2.4 As the Palestinians have refused to
use the Kerem Shalom Crossing, this is now used to transfer donations
from Egypt to Gaza.
2.5 The Rafah Crossing is open two days
a week subject to ongoing threat assessments.
2.6 In the West Bank, the Allenby Crossing
is open to both goods and people, in addition to two further goods
passages for goods being exported from Jordan to Haifa, as well
as to Palestinian cities in the West Bank. Between June and October
2006, 79,410 truckloads were delivered through the passages, and
27,310 went from the PA to Jordan.
2.7 It is interesting to note that this
year is expected to be a bumper year for the olive harvest in
the Palestinian Authority. This year's crop is expected to exceed
169,000 tonnes, a massive increase on 29,000 tonnes in 2005. In
addition, this is expected to yield 2,118,000 NIS ($504,785) worth
of 16 litre olive oil jars. This is up from 356,000 NIS ($85,021)
in 2005. In view of the facts stated above that these various
crossing have allowed goods to pass out the Palestinian territories—it
is expected that this produce will have access to external markets.
3. Are Palestinians in the Gaza Strip prevented
from fishing in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza coast? If so,
why? What restrictions were or are currently in place? If restrictions
have been lifted, which ones have been lifted and how long have
restrictions been lifted for? What is the status with regard to
fishing now? (Richard Burden)
3.1 Although we understand that there are
some restrictions, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish
up to six miles out to sea. These restrictions are most necessary
as fishing vessels have frequently been abused by Palestinian
terrorist organisations to smuggle weapons and explosives for
use against Israel. One such example is the case of Achmad Hadi
Machmad Kon, 29, and Sa'id Abdallah Halil Najar, 31, who were
arrested on 30 November 2005 by IDF forces and General Security
Services. It was discovered that the two used Kon's fishing boat
under the pretext of innocent fishing to smuggle weapons. The
two smuggled about 110 Kalashnikov guns and about 10,000 rounds
of ammunition on three different occasions.[9]
4. What offers of assistance in kind have
been made by Israel to the Palestinians and what have been the
responses? Has the Government of Israel made an offer of help
to the PA from its own resources rather than from the frozen tax
revenues? If so, what has been offered and when? Has it been accepted?
(John Bercow and Malcolm Bruce)
4.1 Select Committee Members should be aware
of the existence of Mashav—the Israeli Government's Centre
for International Cooperation and which is a division of the Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4.2 Mashav[10]
was launched in 1958 as Israel's official overseas development
cooperation framework with the aim of sharing the knowledge and
technologies which provided the basis for Israel's own rapid development
with the developing world. Its focus, since its inception, Mashav
has consistently made poverty alleviation, provision of food security,
empowerment of women and upgrade of basic health and education
services as its priorities. Recently, these priorities have been
enshrined in the Government of Israel's Millennium Development
Goals.
4.3 Through the Mashav network offers have
been made in the past which have been rejected as they constitute
accepting charity from the Israelis and thus, a loss of face by
the Palestinians.
4.4 In 2006, 10 courses and working groups
were set up by Mashav together with Palestinian NGOs in which
around 200 Palestinians came together on issues including female
empowerment and capacity building in civil society.
4.5 Mashav hosted meetings of Palestinian
and Jewish NGOs in Israel to further the progress of small businesses.
Furthermore, on 3 December, Mashav held a roundtable discussion
at the Polish Embassy bringing together Israelis and Palestinians
to create an educational project for reconciliation for both Ministries
of Education. Other internationally funded projects include three
sewage and water improvement initiatives underway in Gaza.
4.6 It is hoped that the recently agreed
ceasefire will facilitate the further grass-root and top-level
assistance and cooperation between the Palestinians and Israelis.
5. In relation to Jerusalem, is it the case
that the only way for a Palestinian, with a West Bank identity
card, to travel into Jerusalem is if he or she works for an international
organisation? (Richard Burden)
5.1 We are not aware of such a restriction.
The following data testifies to the contrary, during November
2006, 12,350 merchants and traders passed daily into Israel from
the West Bank and Gaza. A further 17,800 labourers, 2,000 agricultural
workers and 1,500 workers at the Atarot Industrial park entered
Israel to work daily.
Concluding Remarks
In the light of the normal parliamentary select
committee procedure, we were surprised to see a heavily partisan
piece by a Select Committee member in the Scotsman following the
Committee's visit to the region. It is highly worrying that a
Committee Member has chosen to preempt the outcome of an inquiry
in such an unorthodox manner—given that a process of inquiry
should be as even-handed as possible.
As an organisation supporting efforts to facilitate
a peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, we strongly
urge the Select Committee to engage with non-partisan NGOs promoting
civil society in Israel and the Palestinian territories such as
One Voice. We would be delighted to put the Select Committee in
contact with One Voice (or any other such organisation)—an
organisation which between 19 and 27 November completed a very
successful UK tour of university campuses, synagogues, mosques
and met opinion makers, raising awareness and support for its
work. As our President, Henry Grunwald QC, stressed in his oral
evidence, we believe that it is only through such organisations,
which promote free dialogue and interaction between Israelis and
Palestinians, can the foundations of a proper civil society within
a future Palestinian State be laid and a situation created where
the two societies can live side by side.
December 2006
9 IDF: http://www1.idf.il/dover/site/mainpage.asp?clr=1&sl=EN&id=7&docid=49867 Back
10
MASHAV: http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/missionhome.asp?MissionID=16210& Back
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