On
Palestine,
Area C &
Water
Discussed at
UN, What Was
Accomplished?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 23
-- After the
Palestinian
Authority, the
World
Bank and
others
reported to
the 18-year
old Ad Hoc
Liaison
Committee
on Palestine
Sunday at the
UN, Inner City
Press asked
Norway's
foreign
minister Espen
Barth Eide
about water
and, more
generally,
Area C.
Click
here
to view the
Palestine
Water
Authority's
report. Click
here for
Inner City
Press photo
from the
stakeout.
Espen
Barth Eide
replied that
Area C
received
"strong
attention"
from "everyone
who took the
floor," and
that it was to
be
managed by
Israel for
"transfer back
to Palestine."
He
said there
have been some
improvements,
"but not
enough to the
view of the
majority of
the donors."
He said
"institution
building" has
been a
success, but
economic
development
has been
held back.
Economic
development
was one of the
tasks of Tony
Blair, who in
the meanwhile
has taken
paying gigs
for JP Morgan
Chase and
others.
So
what is being
accomplished
on these
issues? When
Palestine's
finance
minister spoke
next, Inner
City Press
asked him how
Palestine's
request for UN
Observer State
status would
impact on any
of the
issues
discussed in
the Ad Hoc
group.
That
was not
discussed in
the Ad Hoc
group meeting,
he said.
Minutes
later,
Israel's
representative,
after
mentioning
Area C, said
that
the way
forward is
certainly not
through the
UN. Watch this
site.
, 
