Appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad speaks to the media during the Palestine Investment Conference, 22 May 2008. (Luay Sababa/MaanImages)'Salam Fayyad's cynical party
Adri Nieuwhof,
The Electronic Intifada, 26 May 2008
The Palestine Investment Conference held from 21 until 23 May in Bethlehem has incited broad resistance from Palestinian popular organizations. In his invitation to investors appointed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wrote, "We are throwing a party and the whole world is invited." The organizers performed a tour de force by putting "Revitalizing Gaza" on the agenda of the conference, explicitly excluding a debate on political issues. It is obvious that ordinary Palestinians, who are battling every day with the endless rigorous Israeli occupation, will find it hard to relate to this "festive occasion" heavily advocated by the Quartet and its Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, the Portland Trust and various other donors.For the occasion the (PA) deployed 2,000 security personnel in Bethlehem during the conference. According to the Alternative Information Center, based in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the PA ensured that Fayyad and Blair's party would not be spoiled by "the extensive Palestinian grassroots opposition and cynicism towards the conference. Local groups in the Bethlehem area were explicitly told to not organize protests or 'there would be problems.'" In addition, the Palestinian Maan News Agency reported the detention of dozens of people in Bethlehem as part of a security clampdown before the conference. Two sources in the Palestinian security forces confirmed to Maan that approximately 30 people had been detained and were being held in the Muqata'a, the PA's headquarters in Bethlehem. Hamas told Maan about the 19 May arrest of 15 of its members who were suspected of planning political action in connection to the conference. One member of the security forces told Maan that on 17 May the security forces arrested about 80 people, mostly from the village of al-Khader, home to the convention palace where part of the conference is taking place. Some of the people arrested have been released, noted the same source to Maan. Samer Jaber, a leader in the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Colonization in al-Khader said that "Many people were arrested, we don't know the exact reasons." Jaber criticized the clampdown in connection to the economic conference, "How can we talk about development when we don't have the right to free movement?" The organizers of the conference negotiated with Israel to facilitate the opening of the Allenby Bridge at the border with Jordan was until midnight 20 May, to allow the entry of the hundreds of Arab businessmen who attended the conference. Also at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Israeli officials were present to ensure that Arab businessmen would not encounter the difficulties they would normally have to face, when entering the country. The visiting businessmen were granted special permits to tour Israel after the conference. The permits allow the participants of the conference to freely travel throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, a privilege that not many Palestinians and visitors to Palestine experience. However, if these businessmen ever want to return they won't have Israel, the PA, Tony Blair or the US helping them secure their visas and permits. It is telling that Israel allowed businessmen from Gaza to travel to the conference, instead of parents who haven't seen their children and grandchildren for years, students who wish to study, or people who urgently need medical support. In a further demonstration of the real power behind the conference, signs emblazoned with the insignias of the state of Israel, the Israeli police and the Israeli military were posted at the Israeli checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem welcoming conference participants in English and Arabic, while the PA's emblem was absent altogether.'
The Palestine Investment Conference held from 21 until 23 May in Bethlehem has incited broad resistance from Palestinian popular organizations. In his invitation to investors appointed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wrote, "We are throwing a party and the whole world is invited." The organizers performed a tour de force by putting "Revitalizing Gaza" on the agenda of the conference, explicitly excluding a debate on political issues. It is obvious that ordinary Palestinians, who are battling every day with the endless rigorous Israeli occupation, will find it hard to relate to this "festive occasion" heavily advocated by the Quartet and its Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, the Portland Trust and various other donors.For the occasion the (PA) deployed 2,000 security personnel in Bethlehem during the conference. According to the Alternative Information Center, based in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the PA ensured that Fayyad and Blair's party would not be spoiled by "the extensive Palestinian grassroots opposition and cynicism towards the conference. Local groups in the Bethlehem area were explicitly told to not organize protests or 'there would be problems.'" In addition, the Palestinian Maan News Agency reported the detention of dozens of people in Bethlehem as part of a security clampdown before the conference. Two sources in the Palestinian security forces confirmed to Maan that approximately 30 people had been detained and were being held in the Muqata'a, the PA's headquarters in Bethlehem. Hamas told Maan about the 19 May arrest of 15 of its members who were suspected of planning political action in connection to the conference. One member of the security forces told Maan that on 17 May the security forces arrested about 80 people, mostly from the village of al-Khader, home to the convention palace where part of the conference is taking place. Some of the people arrested have been released, noted the same source to Maan. Samer Jaber, a leader in the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Colonization in al-Khader said that "Many people were arrested, we don't know the exact reasons." Jaber criticized the clampdown in connection to the economic conference, "How can we talk about development when we don't have the right to free movement?" The organizers of the conference negotiated with Israel to facilitate the opening of the Allenby Bridge at the border with Jordan was until midnight 20 May, to allow the entry of the hundreds of Arab businessmen who attended the conference. Also at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Israeli officials were present to ensure that Arab businessmen would not encounter the difficulties they would normally have to face, when entering the country. The visiting businessmen were granted special permits to tour Israel after the conference. The permits allow the participants of the conference to freely travel throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, a privilege that not many Palestinians and visitors to Palestine experience. However, if these businessmen ever want to return they won't have Israel, the PA, Tony Blair or the US helping them secure their visas and permits. It is telling that Israel allowed businessmen from Gaza to travel to the conference, instead of parents who haven't seen their children and grandchildren for years, students who wish to study, or people who urgently need medical support. In a further demonstration of the real power behind the conference, signs emblazoned with the insignias of the state of Israel, the Israeli police and the Israeli military were posted at the Israeli checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem welcoming conference participants in English and Arabic, while the PA's emblem was absent altogether.'
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