October 28th, 2010 by Anna

The Christian Science Monitor reports today on a “protracted disagreement” between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over who will pay Gaza’s electricity bills. The standoff means that “for Gaza residents, [the] deep Palestinian divide…not only prevents peace, but literally leaves them in the dark.” Although the European Union used to buy fuel for Gaza from an Israeli supplier, the Palestinians have been paying the bills since December 2009. Now, both sides contend that the other has mishandled tax revenue and international funding: while PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib claims that poor bill collection by Gaza officials has meant that the Hamas-led government pays very little, Gaza Electrical Distribution Company spokesman Usama Dabbour says that Gazans cannot afford to pay the bills. In the meantime, residents of Gaza continue to deal with blackouts and other failures in public service provision on a regular basis.

On a more positive note, USAID released a brief statement today announcing the conclusion of the five-year NETHAM (”Order”) Rule of Law program in the West Bank and Gaza. The program sought to strengthen rule of law in the Palestinian territories by upgrading Notary Public Departments in the West Bank, training judges and judicial staff, streamlining the process for issuing various routine certificates to Palestinians, and providing additional resources to the Al-Quds University School of Law.

Posted in Civil Society, Hamas, Palestine |