Reference number: 81/2023
Date: August 15, 2023
Native language: Arabic
Press release
The International Commission “Hashd” opposes the Palestinian Authority’s deduction of a significant part of the dues of social affairs recipients and calls on the Ministry of Finance to finish all of the unpaid dues.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights “Hashd” opposes and denounces the withholding of a significant number of social affairs recipients’ dues by the Palestinian government in Ramallah and its Ministry of Finance of social affairs beneficiaries (the cash assistance program for poor families).
According to available information, and with the start of disbursement of social affairs allowances yesterday, Monday, August 14, 2023, through the ATM, and today, Tuesday, August 15, 2023, messages arrived via the phones of social affairs beneficiaries showing that there was a large deduction in the allowances they receive, as the authority deducted a large part of the dues. Nearly 18,000 families of social assistance veterans are affected.
It was satisfied with paying only 365 shekels out of its budget of 750 to 1800 shekels for the family. The deductions impacted the beneficiaries of social affairs to whom the authority provides dues, which is estimated to be 17% of the total number of beneficiaries of social affairs, depriving more than 37,000 families in Palestine, including 18 thousand families in the Gaza Strip, of their ability to withstand, especially given the policy of delaying dues payment.
Despite the European Union’s commitment to transfer the value of its contribution to this program, these deductions come in light of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions and high indicators of poverty, unemployment, deprivation, and food insecurity for approximately (70%) of the Gaza Strip’s total population, as well as the reduction of UNRWA services and the suspension of World Food Program payments to approximately 350 thousand individuals.
The Ministry of Social Development justified the payment reduction by stating that it is due to the financial crisis that the Ramallah government is experiencing, as well as the failure of the European Union to fully transfer its contribution, as the European Union contributes 82% of the grant value, the World Bank contributes 1%, and the Palestinian Authority contributes 17% of the grant, noting that there is no set deadline for completing the remainder of the batch.
While the European Union stated that it had contributed 22 million euros to assist poor families, the funding was directed to pay allocations for 71,162 families below the extreme poverty line, while the Palestinian Authority should cover another 37,774 families from its budget.
The International Commission “Hashd”: considers the reduction and decrease in allocations for families that the authority is obligated to cover from its budget as a gross violation of the rights of economically disadvantaged families, and it exacerbates the crisis of social affairs beneficiaries, which began in 2017 due to late and irregular payment of dues, as social affairs beneficiaries received only two payments this year. And, like them in 2022, which compounded the misery of thousands of poor families.
The International Commission “Hashd”: It reaffirms its strong condemnation of the Palestinian Authority’s disregard for the rights of the poor and poorest families, as well as its politicization of their livelihood through continued procrastination and unjustified deductions in the payment of their financial dues, which are not even enough to sow dust in the eyes, despite the beneficiaries’ need for cash and liquidity.
This had disastrous consequences for all of these individuals and their families, particularly children, women, and people with disabilities, given that the unjustified deduction has caused negative social and economic complications on the family and societal levels, including the accumulation of debts owed by poor families, at a time when the costs of daily life have doubled, especially as we stand on the start of the new school year.
The International Commission “Hashd”: urges the Palestinian government and the Ministry of Finance to immediately pay the remaining cash dues to families in need before the start of the school year, so that they can manage their lives in a way that respects their essential human dignity.
The International Commission “Hashd”: calls on the Palestinian government to review and evaluate its existing policies in the face of poverty and destitution, including the implementation of productive and effective policies in place of the current consumer policies, to achieve social development based on providing a decent life for citizens, particularly the poor and needy. It also calls on it to reconsider the structure of the Palestinian Authority’s general budget and how allocations are distributed to various sectors, including giving greater attention to poor and vulnerable families away from politicization and collective punishment, as this is an obligation on the authority and the government under its accession to human rights charters.
Finished.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights “Hashd”
