Local Government Under Occupation
A brief glance at the Municipality of Tulkarem, a town in the Occupied West Bank
This paper was originally going to be entitled “Democracy Under Occupation” but it seems that there is a dearth of democracy in this part of the world.
First some general background. (For a summary time-line, see Appendix 4 at the end of this paper.) In 1967 Israel occupied the West Bank, which is Palestinian territory, and has continued to occupy it ever since, contrary to international law. Since 1967 Israel has continually been building settlements on the West Bank. These are all illegal under international law. Currently half a million Jewish Israelis live in these illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
In 1993 Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords which established the Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA), a governing body for the interim period pending final status negotiations. Although the PA is not an internationally recognised independent sovereign state, it nevertheless conducts its politics along state-like lines. Furthermore, it has formal political control over a significant but highly discontinuous section of its claimed territory. The President is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the PA. He/she is elected by popular elections. The president appoints the prime minister who, in turn, appoints other ministers to the PA. All these appointment have to be approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council (an elected body).
The Oslo Accords divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C. In Area C the Israeli army is responsible for all aspects of life. In Area B, responsibilties are shared between the PA and the Israeli army. In Area A (only 17% of the area of West Bank land) everything except external security and foreign affairs is the responsibility of the PA. (See Appendix 4).
In 2003, during the second intifada (or uprising), the Israeli government began building the separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel. This runs along the internationally recognised border (Green Line) for only 20% of its length and elsewhere cuts into Palestinian territory – up to 25 km in one place. In fact 7% of West Bank land is enclosed on the Israel side of the barrier.
I am living in Tulkarem in the NW corner of the West Bank, close to the border with Israel.
The separation barrier runs along the edge of the town, mostly along the Green Line. The town is in Area A so that local government has significant powers. (This does not prevent the Israeli army from entering the town en masse whenever it feels there is a security imperative for doing so. This has happened less frequently in recent years)
Tulkarem is a town with a population of about 60,000 (including 20,000 in two refugee camps) , so the nearest comparison in the UK is probably a small, urban unitary authority. I was interested to find out how local government operates under Occupation, so I arranged a meeting with Mr Abed Al-Khaliq Jbara who is the Executive Director of Tulkarem Municipality. What follows is partly taken from the information that he kindly gave me.
The Municipality of Tulkarem was first established under the Ottomans in 1887. The town has a Mayor who, in theory, should be elected. In 2004, local elections were planned throughout the West Bank and Gaza for towns and villages of over 450 people. These were held in some areas, but the Hamas coup in Gaza intervened so that in many places, including Tulkarem, the plan never came to fruition. Elections are currently planned for everywhere in the West Bank in June. The present position in Tulkarem is that the Mayor is appointed by the PA in
negotiation with leading local families.
The Mayor then appoints the members of the Municipal Council by negotiation, which is intended to ensure a balance of important local families and political factions.
The Municipal Council has an Executive Director and has departments such as Electricity, Water and Education which provide services and infrastructure. It employs about 500 people, which is more than are needed, but employment is scarce in this area, not least because of the damage to the economy caused by the Occupation and the separation barrier.
Electricity
The “Electric Department” buys electricity from an Israeli company and resells it to the local population. No electricity is generated within the West Bank. Of course, this means that the Israeli authorities can (and occasionally do) cut off the electricity supply whenever they like.
Water
Tulkarem should be rich in water. It sits over the largest aquafer in the whole of Palestine/Israel. The Water department pumps water from this aquafer and sells it to local people. BUT – the amount of water that can be pumped out is strictly limited by the Israeli government. Israeli inspectors come from time to time to check whether the quotas have been exceeded and, if this is the case, future quotas are reduced. Furthermore, seven or eight wells on local Palestinian land have been confiscated by Israel in places where the separation barrier cuts into the West Bank. Most of the remaining local wells are old and in need of repair but the Israeli authorities will not necessarily give permits either for repairs or for digging new wells. Furthermore, even if a permit is given to dig a new well, the Israeli authorities impose a limit on the depth to which it can be dug. By contrast, Jewish wells in Israel, or in the illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank, have no limit placed upon them. In fact 80% of water in the West Bank is taken by Israel, and on average each Israeli uses almost five times as much water as each Palestinian. A long-term plan for sharing water was one of the many things that were postponed until a later stage under the Oslo Accords. But this has not yet come to fruition.
The Budget
Most of the money used by Tulkarem Municipality comes from foreign aid, for example from the EU, the US, Arab countries and from prosperous Palesinian emigrés. (It could be argued that such aid merely serves to support and perpetuate the Occupation, but that’s another story.) It comes via the PA who offer particular infrastructure projects such as schools, roads and spare parts. The work is carried out by local people, supervised by the Municipality.
Traffic fines and a local tax on, for example, buildings, are collected centrally by the PA but only a small amount is returned to the Municipality.
The rest of the Municipality’s income comes from local charges such as those for water, sewage, electricity, building permits, licences for premises, rent, car tax, taxi licences etc. In fact many people default on payments for electricity and water. The current total debt is about 150 million shekels (£27 million) and is increasing annually. Both the Electric and Water departments are currently making a loss and there are plans to privatise both. The decision to privatise was made centrally by the Ministry of Finance of the PA, partly at the insistence of donors and partly on the Ministry’s own initiative, based on the following argument: In this part of the world, life is very much governed by family and community networks. Everybody knows, or is related to, someone on the Council. So it is easy to say to your cousin on the Council “I have a big family. I cannot pay my bill this month, but I will definitely be able to pay soon.” and the cousin will always say, “Yes of course. There is no problem.” Private companies would not have personal links with consumers and so would be able to insist that people pay in advance, in the same way that they pay for, say, internet services and cigarettes.
The Black Hole in the Budget
During the second intifada (“uprising”) in roughly 2001-2005, the Tulkarem Municipality, along with others, refused to pay the Israeli electricity company that supplies Tulkarem. Now the company is recovering the unpaid amounts from the PA Ministry of Finance who are, in turn, charging the Municipality. During the week Jan 24 to 30, 2010, for example, the amount repaid was 4 million shekels (£720,000) although in the long run the monthly amount will be about 3.5 million shekels (£650,000). All this will have to be recovered from the consumer. The Electric Department is installing 500 new meters in the hope that this will lessen the consumer debt, although in the short term, the Israeli company wants advance payment for these meters, which only adds to the problem.
The Education Department
The Mayor chairs the education committee. The department is funded by a tax on houses, but this provides insufficient income so the Municipality adds funds from the general budget. The main responsibilities of the Department are firstly to obtain land for building, and secondly maintenance. (Teachers are paid from central, PA funds). The committee is always looking for international donors to fund school building and for emigré Palestinians to donate land. Many schools are named after their benefactors. In Tulkarem there are two girls’ high schools and two boys’ high schools.
The Office of Municipal and Civil Affairs
This office coordinates between the Municipality and the Israeli authorities. It arranges meetings, largely concerning electricity supply, water and the environment. At present they are dealing with a joint Israeli-Palestinian project, funded by Germany, to build a trunk sewage pipe in the Alexander valley from Nablus, near Tulkarem, through Israel and to the Mediterranean. This project is, presumably, part of a belated attempt by Israel to bring the treatment of waste water from their settlements and from Palestinian areas up to the standard required by international law. Currently there is a huge pollution problem on the West Bank.
The Economic and Social Effects of the Separation Barrier – Divided Land and Lives
Before the war of 1948, much of the land between Tulkarem and the Mediterranean used to be linked to Tulkarem both socially and economically. But in 1948, most of this land became part of the newly established state of Israel. Many Palestinian families fled East at this time. More families fled in 1967, following the 6-day war. Hence Tulkarem is home to about 20,000 refugees (in addition to the remaining population of 40,000). In fact, 60% of the population of Tulkarem have relatives amongst the many Palestinian Israelis the other side of the border.
Despite the fact that since 1947 there has been a border between the West Bank and Israel, it was fairly easy for people from Tulkarem to pass to and from Israel and there were strong economic and social links between Tulkarem and the part of Israel just over the border. Villages close to the border on both sides had close ties with each other. Every day Israelis (including Palestinian Israelis and 400 to 500 Jewish Israelis) used to cross the border into Tulkarem to take advantage of the cheaper prices. This situation came to an end in 2003 when Israel built the separation barrier. Since then, movement has been heavily restricted. Since the Occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Israel had encouraged West Bank Palestinians to work in Israel, thus making the Palestinian economy dependent on Israel. But since 2003, West Bank Palestinians have needed permits to cross into Israel and these permits are difficult to obtain. People who have employment in Israel can get a permit to cross daily, but this involves hours of waiting in the infamous Ephraim Terminal instead of a five minute journey. (This is the place where 3000 – 5000 people queue for hours every day to cross into Israel for work.) And they are not allowed to stay the night in Israel. People with relatives in Israel can sometimes get permits but only for occasional visits. In some cases, husband and wife are separated by the barrier, with the West Bank husband allowed only occasional visits to his Palestinian Israeli wife and children in Israel.
Palestinians can only export goods via Israel, who only allow very little. They are not allowed to import machinery above a certain size, so building factories is out of the question. The economy of the West Bank, including Tulkarem, is severely limited and is heavily dependent on that of Israel and on PA salaries.
The building of the separation barrier, even where it is on the Green Line, has involved the confiscation of large quantities of Palestinian land – without compensation. The Ephraim Terminal itself is built on such land. The separation barrier has caused enormous damage to the Tulkarem economy because of the loss of land and the loss of business. Many houses near the barrier were destroyed by the Israeli army some years ago and businesses near the barrier are defunct. Thousands of local people have found work across the border, even at the cost of queueing for hours every day to pass through the Terminal.
There has recently been some damage to fencing at the terminal. The Israeli authorites initially said that it was the PA’s responsibility to repair it, ie in practice the Tulkarem Municipality’s responsibility. But, understandably, the Municipality want nothing to do with this facility which was built without their consent, on Palestinian land. In the end, the Israeli army repaired it.
A final irony under this section. A few years ago, an Israeli entrepreneur built a chemical factory near Netanya, in Israel, just across the border from Tulkarem. The pollution that it produced contravened Israeli environmental legislation. So the firm simply moved the whole factory, lock, stock and barrell, aross the border to Tulkarem in the West Bank, where of course, it doesn’t matter if you pollute the environment. Most of the time the wind blows from the West, so the noxious gases are blown away from Israel and onto the West Bank. (The smell in Tulkarem is often quite unpleasant.) On the few days when the wind is blowing East, towards Israel, the factory is closed down!
Social Work
Young people in Tulkarem grow up in an atmosphere of repression and fear. Unsurprisingly, there are many social problems but the Municipality does not have the resources to address them. There is a Tulkarem Society of Social Work Committees, staffed entirely by volunteers, who run various projects, such as youth clubs, in the town.
The Refugee Camp
The camp itself (not actually a “camp”, but crowded, poor quality housing) was built by the UN about 55 years ago. The Municipality has no resources to meet the needs of the refugees, many of whom are unemployed. But the UN funds many social projects in the camp such as classes for pregnant women. Funding for a full-time worker has recently run out and she now works voluntarily. People at the camp are particularly proud of their football team, Markaz Shabab Tulkarem, who were champions of Palestine in 2005/06. This is a semi-professional team, as is the other Tulkarem team, Thaqafi Tulkarm. Both are usually at the top, or near the top, of Palestine League Division One. Payments for players come from members’ fees and from charitable donations. There is no charge for spectators.
The Park
There is a very small park in the town, run by the Municipality. It is not well used and looks fairly neglected.
In Conclusion
Local Government in Tulkarem operates, at present, without democracy. If and when democracy is introduced, this will not change the basic fact that life is lived under Occupation and in the shadow of the barrier. The consequences are many. The Municipality exists only with the permission of Israel and its freedom of action is limited. The economy is severely damaged and resources are woefully inadequate. There is heavy dependence on foreign aid. And there is a long list of social deprivations.
Three appendices follow . . . .
Appendices on three centrally provided public services:
Appendix 1: University Lecturers
Salaries of lecturers at government universities (~ £1000 pm) are only about two thirds of those at private universities, but the government (ie the PA) pays a pension, which private universities do not. The maximum pension is 75% of salary, after 20 years’ service, and continues after death for widows, for sons up to age 18 and for daughters until they marry (!)
Appendix 2: The Fire Service.
This is run by the PA, not by local government. In Tulkarem there are two fire stations, manned by 68 men (no women) dressed in military-style uniforms with boots that shine like mirrors. They work 24 hours on, 24 hours off. Occasionally they are called to deal with a problem at the huge Ephraim Terminal. But the firemen believe that, since the Israelis built this facility, the Israelis should take responsibility when there are problems. This a vain hope, so they do sometimes turn out voluntarily.
Appendix 3: Health Services
Health services in the West Bank are not the responsibility of local government, but are delivered by four providers – the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the UN Relief and Work Agency, non-governmental organisations, and the private medical sector. There is a Ministrey of Health hospital in Tulkarem, where I am told that very few medicines are held. Patients receive a prescription and buy their medicines at any of the many pharmacies in the town.
Here is a general overview based on information published in the Lancet in March 2009.
Because of various factors, including little health-service development under the Israeli military administration between 1967 and 1993 and poor governance and mismanagement by the Palestinian Authority, current services have been unable to provide adequately for people’s needs, especially in tertiary health care. Therefore, the Palestinian Ministry of Health continues to refer patients elsewhere (Israel, Egypt, and Jordan), leading to a substantial drain on health resources.
The current Palestinian health system is made up of fragmented services that grew and developed over generations and across different regimes. During the 19th century, Christian missionaries from the western countries established some hospitals that are still operating in East Jerusalem. During the early part of the 20th century, the British Mandate expanded these services.
The 1948 Nakba (or “Catastrophe” which the Israelis call “The War of Independence”) led the UN General Assembly to establish the UN Relief and Works Agency in 1949. Since then, this agency has been delivering various key services to registered Palestinian refugees, including food aid, housing, education, and health services.
From 1967 (when Israeli occupied the West Bank and Gaza) until 1993, health services for Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories were neglected and starved of funds by the Israeli military administration, with shortages of staff, hospital beds, medications, and essential and specialised services, forcing Palestinians to depend on health services in Israel. For example, in 1975 the West Bank health budget was substantially lower than that of one Israeli hospital for the same year. The Palestinian response was to create independent Palestinian services through health, women’s, agricultural, and student social-action groups.
After the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Ministry of Health was established in 1994. It inherited, from the Israeli military government, health services that had been neglected. Supported by massive funding from international donors, the ministry has since upgraded and expanded the health system infrastructure by institution building and human resource development. Donors have an influential role in determining the policy of the authority.
All these interacting factors have contributed to undermining the ability of Palestinians to build a health system from existing health services. In addition to the need for control over resources for health care, building an effective health system requires sovereignty, self-determination, authority, and control over land, water, the environment, and movement of people and goods, all of which are relevant for the protection and promotion of health. The international community has not appreciated the degree to which the Palestinian National Authority is “less than a state, yet expected to act like a state”.
Because of the current political and contextual constraints, no comprehensive agenda for improving health and services in the occupied Palestinian territory can be outlined with any confidence.
Appendix 4: Summary Time-Line
1948 British withdrawal from Palestine, followed by the War of Independence or “Nakba” (Catastrophe). Establishment of the State of Israel. Millions of Palestinians flee to the West Bank, Gaza and other countries. Jordan assumes control of the West Bank.
1967 Six-day war. Israel occupies the West Bank and Gaza and the Israeli government begins building settlements in these territories. (These settlements are illegal under international law.)
1993 Oslo Accords signed. PA set up. West Bank areas A, B, C agreed as follows .
Area % of WB land % of WB Palestinians Responsibility
A 17% 55% PA responsible for all except external security and foreign affairs, which come under the Israeli army.
B 24% 41% Responsibilties shared between the PA and Israeli army
C 59% 4% Israeli army responsible for all aspects of life
2003 Israel begins building the separation barrier, following the outbreak of the second intifada in 2001/2002.
Peter Balaam
15/03/2010
I work for Quaker Peace and Social Witness as an Ecumenical Accompanier serving on the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The views contained in this email are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer (QPSW) or the WCC. If you would like to publish the information contained here (including posting it on a website) or distribute it further, please first contact the QPSW Programme Manager for Israel/OPT (teresap@quaker.org.uk) for permission. Thank you.
