Being British

It is not easy to be British here in Palestine. Where are you from, we are asked: "Sweden" "you are welcome", "Norway" "you are welcome", "South-Africa, Switzerland, Holland -You are welcome". The UK?.... I have come to dread the name of Balfour.. "What do you think of the situation in our country?" What I think of the situation in Palestine is as I wrote to David Miliband in anticipation of Mr. Netanyahu's visit:

"I am writing to you from Palestine where I see every day a people's basic rights dismissed in the name of Israeli security on a land which Israel has no right to settle. I see people being despoiled of their land, when it is not their home. I see people humiliated and I see an economy in tatters because the country is not allowed to function properly, in the name of Israeli security on a land to which the International Community does not recognize them any claim.

The World Bank itself reports thus:

'1.4 Indeed, the post-conflict economic booms in other countries were mostly not hampered by the extreme restrictions facing the Palestinian private sector today. Very few economies have faced such a comprehensive array of obstacles to investment -- not just of physical impediments to movement, but also comprehensive institutional and administrative barriers to economies of scale and natural resources, along with an unclear political horizon and the inability to predictably plan movement of people and goods. This report shows that progress in the relaxation of these restrictions during 2008 has been marginal at best. As a result of the Israeli security regime, the Palestinian economy has hollowed out, with the productive sectors declining and the public sector growing, as more of the population looks to the public sector for employment and assistance in coping with the impact of unemployment. The PA's wage bill alone is equivalent to 22 percent of GDP1. The result is a growing dependency on donor aid for the prevention of fiscal collapse. In 2008, external aid to the PA amounted to nearly 30 percent of GDP.'

I am writing to ask you to make sure that our Prime Minister represents to Mr. Netanyahu that the settlements, which are used as an excuse to many of the restrictions imposed on the Palestinians must be dismantled. The siege of Gaza and the humanitarian disaster that ensues must end as does the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem. There will not be peace without justice. (...) I hope that the indignation felt by the people who are aware of Israel's conduct in Palestine can be made clear to its Prime Minister."

Most people are touched by and grateful for our presence at their side but some find it hard to believe that any sympathy for their plight can be found in Britain - and when I read reports of the outcomes of Netanyahu's visit, I can't say I blame them: I find precious little in his "concessions" that could remotely alter the findings of the World Bank and I would find it hard to count a government satisfied with such half-hearted commitments as my friend.