The Elements of a Viable Palestinian Administration
| Author | John Stebbing |
| Published date | 01 October 1982 |
| Date | 01 October 1982 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/004711788200700404 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
2190
THE
ELEMENTS
OF
A
VIABLE
PALESTINIAN
ADMINISTRATION
JOHN
STEBBING
MucH
will
depend
on
the
resolution
with
which
negotiations
are
pressed
ahead
for
the
setting
up
of
a
Palestinian
administration.
It
is
certain
that
there
will
be
no
peace
in
the
Middle
East
until
the
Palestinians
achieve
a
homeland
and
a
way
of life
which
compares
with
that
of
any
other
people
in
the
region.
It
is
certain
also
that
this
has
to
be
brought
about
in
a
manner
acceptable
to
the
Palestinians,
the
Arab
States
and
Israel.
This
study
is
concerned
with
the
functional
aspects
of
a
Palestinian
administration:
it
assumes
a
reasonable
political
will
on
all
sides.
It
will
be
the
first
task
of
the
negotiators
to
start
by
building
confidence,
perhaps
by
illustrating
the
general
feasibility
of
a
constructive
and
favourable
outcome.
Fortunately,
parts
of
a
possible
administration
already
exist
in
the
organisation
of
the
United
Nations
Relief and
Works
Agency
for
Palestinian
refugees
in
the
Near
East
(UNRWA)
which
has
been
functioning
since
1950
in
all
the
refugee
areas
of the
West
Bank
and
Gaza
Strip,
as
well
as
in
Lebanon,
Syria
and
Jordan.
The
Agency
has
been
responsible
for
all
primary
and
intermediate
education,
and
all
vocational
training;
and
for
health
services
for
the
most
aged,
destitute
and
needy
of the
refugee
population.
For
years
the
Agency
has
had
to
call
on
UN
member
states
to
meet
the
cost
of
its
operations,
particularly
the
very
fine
educational
services,
which
keep
expanding.
For
the
last
five
years
UNRWA
has
been
forced
by
rising
yearly
deficits
to
cut
down
its
services,
other
than
education.
Until
the
Lebanon
war,
the
projected
deficit
for
the
year
ending
30th
June,
1982
was
$42m.
in
a
total
estimated
budget
for
the
year
of
$233.5m.
An
appeal
was
made
through
the
UN
Secretary-General
for
$20m
to
keep
the
643
schools,
serving
340,000
refugee
children,
functioning
until
the
end
of
1982;
the
alternative
was
the
closure
of
the
entire
system
and
the
dismissal
of
10,000
teachers,
all
Palestinians.
Owing
to
the
great
political
risks
of closing
the
schools,
the
Agency
decided
in
April
to
take
the financial
risk
of
not
receiving
enough
money,
rather
than
°‘unleashing
additional
turmoil&dquo;.
The
situation
in
July
was
even
more
serious:
an
estimated
total
of
175,000
refugees
had
been
displaced
by
the
Lebanon
war;
that
is
38,000
families.
The
extreme
severity
of
the
later
bombing
and
shelling
increased
the
destruction
to
levels
that
are
still
impossible
to
estimate
in
human
or
financial
terms.
Leaving
aside
any
provision
for
emergency
expenditure
the
budgeted
expenditure
for
1983
is
2191
$271
million
and,
at
present,
the
prospective
deficit
is
$86
million.
The
contribution
of
the
UNRWA/UNESCO
schools
to
the
Middle
East
refugee
problem
has
been
one
of
great
distinction.
The
total
refugee
enrolment
in
all
the
host
countries,
and
the
occupied
areas
of the
West
Bank
and
Gaza
Strip,
has
risen
steadily
from
43,000
in
1950
to
the
present
340,0001.
Besides
the
UNRWA/
UNESCO
schools,
there
are
90,000
children
in
government
and
private
schools.
The
educational
organisation
is
the
major
part
of
the
whole
UNRWA
programme.
Out
of
the
Agency’s
total
staff
of
16,730
only
104
are
internationally
recruited,
the
great
majority
of
local
staff
are
Palestinian
Arabs.
The
UNRWA/UNESCO
programme
has
also
developed
qualitatively.
It
was
specially
reviewed
in
1970
as
a
part
of
the
worldwide
study
of
education
in
International
Education
Year.
Many
of the
priority
themes
then
advocated
already
formed
part
of
the
UNRWA/UNESCO
programmes
for
academic,
vocational
and
teacher
training
as
well
as
public
health
and
community
development.
&dquo;As
the
UNRWA/UNESCO
programme
involves
running
a
school
system
within
the
boundaries
of
host
countries,
close
co-operation
with
these
governments
is
required.
There
are
frequent
discussions
with
the
Arab
host
governments
on
educational
matters,
and
no
new
operational
project
is
introduced
without
consultation
with
them.
Once
a
year
UNRWA,
UNESCO
and
the
Arab
host
governments
meet
to
consider
aspects
of
the
programme&dquo;.’
It
is
highly
important
that
this
long
established
machinery
for
international
co-operation
is
kept
in
being.
After
the
initial
nine
years
of
elementary
and
preparatory
education,
pupils
have
the
opportunity
to
proceed
direct
to
most
UNRWA/UNESCO
courses
or
to
the
host
governments’ secondary
schools
from
which,
after
three
years,
they
can
be
considered
for
university
entry,
teacher
training
or
one
of
the
post-secondary
vocational
training
courses
(e.g.
electrician,
laboratory
technician,
business
education).
Secondary
education
in
the
West
Bank
and
Gaza
Strip
is
provided
by
the
civil
administration
following
the
Jordan
and
Arab
Republic
of
Egypt
curricula,
respectively.
Thus,
at
the
very
outset
of
examining
the
elements
of
a
possible
Palestinian
administration
it
is
plain
that
a
most
important
component,
built
over 30
years,
is
close
to
the
point
of collapse.
Just
how
valuable
these
UNRWA
services
are
in
relation
to
a
future
1
UNRWA
Report
No. 2.
United
Nations
Relief
and
Works
Agency
for
the
Palestine
Refugees
in
the
Near
East.
July
1982.
(This
is
the
second
in
a
series
of
special
UNRWA
reports
issued
during
the
1982
Lebanon
War.)
2
UNRWA/UNESCO
"Education
Services
for
Palestine
Refugees"
issued
for
International
Education
Year—1970.
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