Palestine:
Moving Forward
Priority Interventions for 2010
January 2010
Table of Contents
Background [2]
Guiding Principles [3]
Approach [4]
Summary of Priority Interventions [5]
Next Steps [6]
Background
The publication of the program of the 13th Government Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State heralded a new era in the PNA’s approach to institution-building, reform and development. First and foremost, the Government program introduced the concept of organizing development and institution-building activities to expedite ending the occupation despite the constraints it imposes.
This approach differs somewhat from that taken in formulating Palestinian National Policy Agenda (PNPA), which was the guiding policy framework of the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP) 2008-10. Essentially, the PNPA and PRDP were primarily focused on approaches to socio-economic and institutional development within the constraints imposed by the occupation. This approach was based on the assumption that those constraints would be progressively lifted during the three year time frame of the PRDP, creating space for sustainable freedom of movement, security and economic growth.
In reality, however, the occupation regime has remained in place in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. East Jerusalem, the cultural and economic hub of Palestine, remains isolated. In the rest of the West Bank, as in East Jerusalem, Israeli settlement activity has continued and access and development have continued to be highly constrained by a myriad of physical and functional restrictions, while the siege on Gaza has been tightened. Faced with these developments on the ground, the 13th Government resolved to take the initiative and redouble the PNA’s efforts to bring reform and development despite the occupation, and consolidate the institutions of the State of Palestine in two years.
As we enter the final year of the national planning cycle, the final year of the PRDP, the PNA has already begun the task of developing the Palestinian National Plan (PNP) 2011-13. This national plan is being constructed on the foundations of the PRDP 2008-10 and will be aligned with the vision of building towards national independence and sovereignty articulated in the Program of the 13th Government. The PNP 2011-13 will be completed in the summer of 2010 and will inform the PNA’s budgets for 2011 through 2013. In addition, acknowledging the need to reflect the 13th Government’s new approach in the allocation of its budgetary resources, the PNA has also worked through the second half of 2009 to identify and assess the highest priority reform and development initiatives which need to continue or to be initiated in 2010.
It is important to recognize that this document is not a new national plan. It does not in any way invalidate ongoing or planned activities in relation to the implementation of the PRDP 2008-10, to which the PNA remains committed. The priority interventions highlighted herein are based on PNA ministries’ 2010 budget submissions which are aligned with the PRDP. This represents the culmination of an effort, in which all PNA ministries and agencies participated in identifying those high priority interventions that need to be initiated or continued in 2010 to support the realization of an independent, viable and sovereign State of Palestine over the next two years. Accordingly, this document will be a strategic guide for all PNA bodies as they work collectively towards realizing the vision of the 13th Government Program during the coming year. It will also help guide dialogue with our international
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