Palestanians have the right to be skeptical when it comes to donations coming to them. Few Arab countries carried through on promises last year to cover a Palestinian funding gap aggravated by Israeli sanctions. The Kingdom was one Arab country that did uphold its pledge, donating $200 million. The same, though, cannot be said of all parties, which is sad because the money is needed direly. Arab pledges constitute almost half the foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority. So again, after the Emir of Qatar recently called for the establishment of a $1 billion fund to help Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Palestinians are not sure if the fund will really be as big as the Emir hopes. In the Arab League summit in Doha, Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani said its member states should be serious about defending East Jerusalem's “Arab character”. Sheikh Hamad did not elaborate on the precise purpose of the fund and how the money would be spent, but its worth is undeniable. Aid will go to preventing further Israeli encroachment on East Jerusalem, which will be the capital of a Palestinian state, the occupation of which is illegal under international law, and its annexation by Israel in 1980 rejected by the UN Security Council. The assistance would protect the Arab and Islamic rights of the city's estimated 300,000 Palestinian residents, who face pressure from Jewish settlers and harsh restrictions from Israeli authorities. It would finance projects and programs to help Palestinians in the city, safeguarding Jerusalem's Palestinian and Islamic character. Palestinians in East Jerusalem will be able to sustain themselves economically, culturally, religiously and commercially. The development fund will be vital for addressing a severe shortage of homes and classrooms for Palestinians in the city and will strengthen municipal services. Where the money will go to is an issue; it probably will not be going directly to the PA which does not have authority in East Jerusalem. It is also unclear how projects financed by the fund, to be managed by the Islamic Development Bank, could be channelled to Palestinians without the acceptance of Israel which governs the city. And persuading Israel to allow the money in will be a hard sell judging by its initial reaction that the fund would deprive Jerusalem of its Jewish foundations. While Sheikh Hamad offered to contribute $250 million, it is not certain whether other Arab states will follow through on their pledges. They failed last year to pay $100 million a month to the PA in emergency funds which were to compensate for Israel's refusal to disburse Palestinian tax revenues. Israel, which collects those funds on behalf of the PA, withheld the money as retaliation for Palestinian recognition by the UN as a non-member observer state. It was only this week that Israel agreed to start paying the tax funds, probably after prodding by US President Obama during his recent visit to Israel. The influx of almost 200,000 Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem has made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to divide the city to serve as capitals of Palestinian and Israeli states. The settler presence in East Jerusalem may be too large an impediment for the Palestinians to overcome. As the Israeli occupation systematically and continuously works to Judaize East Jerusalem, Palestinians fear that the building of Israeli settlements has made a two-state solution untenable. They must now also be worried about something else: whether Arab aid pledges will really materialize.
