(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Scott B. Lasensky - Improving the plight of Palestinian refugees need not be hostage to the current political deadlock - or to a comprehensive peace deal that has never seemed so far out of reach. Since 1993, the international community has poured $5 billion into the Palestinian territories - making Palestinians the highest per-capita recipients of development aid. Yet this aid was never directed at the refugee question. Creating a mechanism that would ease the situation of Palestinian refugees in a way that promotes an eventual resolution of the conflict could contribute more toward long-term peace and stability than the current donor strategy of increasing emergency aid and bolstering Yasser Arafat.
2003-03-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive