The Government... and Dignity

Author: جهاد حرب

(1) The Emergency Session of the Government
 
The Palestinian government held an emergency meeting last night (Thursday) to discuss the financial crisis mainly caused by the Israeli government's refusal to transfer the remaining revenue clearance funds in the last two months after extensive deductions that have been applied since 2019 and increased after October 2023.

This type of extraordinary meeting means coming up with unexpected decisions to confront the crisis and prevent disaster, as well as practical measures that correspond to the nature of the crisis the government and the Palestinian Authority are suffering from. However, the government's "threatening" statement did not rise to the level of action needed to curb the Israeli measures, which apparently aim to undermine the Authority or, at the very least, keep it on the brink of collapse. 

In my opinion, the government is compelled to make difficult decisions and confront Israeli policies despite the delay in doing so; no government or ruling political class in the past thirty years has made the right decision at the necessary time or created surprises for the regional and international parties involved in the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis; this is due to the hesitation in making decisions or the repeated threats that render those threats meaningless after the Israeli government has taken precautions to nullify any step or action and keep it symbolic, if taken by the Palestinians, or to make its impact on them more painful.

The delay in decision-making or hesitation means that the government is still betting on the international community, which has completely abandoned its commitments to protect international law and human rights, which it has been proclaiming for decades, and betting on the European Union, which is unable to make a decision in its institutions to punish Israel for its violation of the partnership agreement with it, or that the Palestinian people and its basic political entities have become incapable of confronting the Israeli government's policies. 
   
(2) Dignity

An issue emerged last week at the Karama crossing after the Jordanian Jet Company decided to reorganize the ticket purchasing mechanism. This is a progressive step to prevent the accumulation of citizens at the Jordanian crossing and to organize travel times, which could ease the burdens of travel at this important crossing for all Palestinians, not to mention the Israeli reduction of working hours on the bridge, which means an increase in the number of travelers in a short time, creating an additional human crisis and exacerbating the suffering of Palestinians. This is a deliberate or systematic measure aimed at stripping Palestinians of dignity in their travel and tightening the noose on them in all aspects of their lives. We have seen painful images on social networks reflecting the dignity of all Palestinians at the Karama crossing, which symbolizes the deep connectivity between Palestinians and Jordanians, embodied in blood during the Battle of Karama and for many long years before and after it. 

In my opinion, the company did not exercise the due diligence needed to prevent potential errors that blemished this procedure on a technical and practical level, represented in choosing an inappropriate timing to start this procedure in the summer, which is already a busy time for travelers, and it did not conduct the necessary tests to ensure the smooth operation of this process, nor took precautionary measures to prevent some people from exploiting this new procedure; especially since the custom indicates that the weak-hearted and war profiteers try to exploit any crisis or create crises for profit.

The early days of the crisis indicated an official Jordanian desire to prevent the exploitation of this crisis, as demonstrated by the visit of the Jordanian Minister of Interior to the Jordanian side of the crossing and the issuance of strict instructions to alleviate the burden on citizens, which reflects the same desire within the Palestinian government, represented by the visit of the Palestinian Minister of Interior. However, this desire has not yet borne fruit. In my opinion, the measures taken have not been sufficient to hold accountable the war profiteers who instigated this crisis to exploit citizens' needs and increase their suffering, nor to prevent any future attempts.