Former Israeli official suggests curbing rise of Hamas through welfare provision

Tuesday August 21, 2007 10:37 by John Smith - IMEMC & agencies

Rani Lowenstein, a former Israeli official, has suggested that the Palestinian Authority should implement a comprehensive welfare state system in the West Bank in order to curb the rise of Hamas and establish a parliamentary majority in any future Palestinian Legislative Council elections.

A Hamas demonstration in the Gaza Strip

Lowenstein, considered by many to be close to the current Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, made the suggestions in a report presented to Palestinian officials during a conference in the United States.

The report predicts a Hamas takeover of the West Bank within two years if the PA does not take serious measures to improve the standard of life in the region.

The document goes on to suggest, in a somewhat contradictory fashion, that the Fatah movement should concentrate upon short-term schemes, seemingly solely designed to improve the reputation of the organisation with members of the public – a suggestion that stands directly opposed to the implementation of a long-term welfare strategy.

While positing a number of schemes that the PA could implement in the West Bank, the report utterly fails to consider, beyond a vague conception of a number of “goodwill gestures,” the ways in which Israeli measures are crippling the economy of both the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and the means by which Israeli-led initiatives could improve the humanitarian situation in both regions.

Palestinian officials are yet to comment on the report.

west bank | palestinian politics | news report