Publication
Omar Shaban Ismail · Sama News Agency · 2016
Omar Shaban sees the Palestinian government's response to appeals for holding local elections jointly across the Palestinian territories — including an appeal by the NGO Network signed by about 120 organisations — as a model of how the Authority and civil society should relate. He stresses that an active civil society is a mark of modernity and a check on overbearing governments and monopolies, that it has a long record of national work and operates in Area C, which makes up 62% of the West Bank. He calls for a genuine, lasting partnership, a transparent national fund to support civil society organisations drawing on the German experience, their inclusion in drafting government policy, and for civil society itself to set an example of partnership and democracy.
Omar Shaban, August 2016: unified municipal elections model the PA’s partnership with civil society; he calls for a national fund to support it.
The Palestinian government’s positive response to the appeals of Palestinian society to hold local government elections in a unified manner in the Palestinian territories provided a practical example of what the relationship between the two should be. Some writers, including the author of this article and others, among them Eng. Ali Abu Shahla, called on the Palestinian government to reverse its decision to hold municipal elections in the northern governorates only, as in 2012, and stressed the need to hold them in the Gaza Strip as well. The Palestinian NGO Network also published an appeal signed by around 120 civil society organizations calling on the Palestinian government for the same demand.
The state of harmony and understanding between civil society, the government, and the political forces in the field of municipal elections offers a commendable model that should be built upon and generalized for the benefit of all.
## The strength of civil society is an indicator of modernity:
Palestinian civil society, as in any society, is a basic and natural component of Palestinian society. An active civil society indicates a high level of civilization characteristic of modern societies, as its active presence in any society signals its transition from primitive societies to political societies governed by law, good governance, and institutionalism. Civil society is what preserves societies’ balance and civility in the face of the encroachment of ruling regimes, armies, and monopolistic profit-driven corporations. Civil society does not have the authority to enact laws or wage wars, nor does it possess prisons for detention and the imposition of punishments; these are the tasks of the political and military authorities, which often use them unjustly. Therefore, the strength of civil society is one of the restraints on the overreach of political and military regimes and monopoly corporations. Palestinian civil society, like others, has the full right and duty to contribute effectively to enriching the debate on issues concerning Palestinian affairs, as well as to offer advice, ideas, and proposals aimed at promoting justice and equality among the various segments of society and achieving the political goals of the Palestinian people. Involving civil society in decision-making is not a grant from the political authority; rather, it is one of the sources of its legitimacy and a measure of its integrity.
## Civil society and a long history of national work:
Palestinian civil society has been working with great effectiveness since the beginning of the conflict, and for many decades before the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, in confronting settlement and Judaization policies and in strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land. Through its academic and educational institutions, civil society led the process of building the Palestinian individual and equipping them with the expertise needed to meet the requirements of development and modernity. Palestinian civil society organizations are present in Area C, which constitutes 62% of the West Bank, where the institutions of the Palestinian National Authority cannot operate freely, and during times of crises, wars, and the Intifada that the Palestinian territories in general, and the Gaza Strip in particular, have faced and continue to face. Palestinian civil society has long taken, and continues to take, a clear stance against monopolistic companies that seek to maximize profit for the benefit of a minority at the expense of the poor majority. Palestinian civil society did not remain silent or neutral in the face of the repercussions of the accursed division that struck the Palestinian cause at its core; it has not ceased for a moment to contribute ideas and practical efforts that aimed, and still aim, to end the division, despite sometimes being subjected to campaigns diminishing its role. Although it has been a victim of division, siege, and marginalization, it rose above its suffering and worked diligently to fulfill its role toward marginalized and wounded groups, condemning political detention, the suppression of freedoms, the freezing of the democratic process, and corrupt monopoly contracts. Under this accursed division, Palestinian civil society has become the principal address for marginalized groups, unemployed youth, abused women, and other segments of society. Civil society, especially its human rights institutions, has worked tirelessly to expose the policies of the occupation—settlement, Judaization, killing, and land bulldozing—through monitoring and documenting these violations and conveying them to the world, as well as strengthening advocacy campaigns for the Palestinian cause before international forums. Civil society largely belongs to the middle class in society, the class that preserves society’s balance. Palestinian civil society emerged from within the folds of the homeland and therefore it is necessary to preserve it and its strength. Civil society organizations in Europe are the ones that stood against the overreach of their governments toward refugees because of the wars in the Middle East. Palestinian civil society and its figures, whether individuals or institutions, deserve appreciation, praise, and support, not marginalization and neglect.
## A genuine, sustainable partnership, not a temporary formal one:
The lack of seriousness and the arbitrariness in an actual partnership on the part of the government, the private sector, and international organizations with Palestinian civil society on many pivotal issues through which the Palestinian cause has passed does not serve the interest of society in general or the political authority in particular. Civil society possesses long and accumulated expertise far superior to that of the government and the executive and diplomatic bodies, which are often formed on the basis of political and familial calculations and quotas. The unilateralism of the government, the private sector, and international organizations in designing and implementing certain policies has contributed to the severe decline afflicting the Palestinian cause and Palestinian society. The failure of reconstruction efforts, the failure of the multiple rounds of reconciliation, the deterioration of health and cultural services, and the sterility of economic policies are natural results of the policies of marginalization to which civil society in Palestine is subjected.
## Toward strengthening national funding:
The absence of a national fund dedicated to supporting the initiatives and efforts of civil society leads some of it to rely on international grants, some of which have their own agendas that do not necessarily align with Palestinian developmental goals. Therefore, local funding for civil society organizations must be strengthened to reduce dependence on international funding. The German experience can be drawn upon in this context. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocates budgets to all the developmental arms of political parties to support their work, whether inside or outside the country; budgets are allocated even to opposition parties, provided they are spent transparently and according to highly professional standards, and that documented final reports are submitted on how the grant was used. The Palestinian situation is not healthy at all, as support is confined only to the institutions of the ruling party, even though these are public funds collected through taxes from the whole of society. Therefore, I call for:
1) The establishment of a national fund with allocated financial budgets, supervised by a council selected on a highly professional basis, dedicated to supporting the efforts of civil society organizations, including weak and grassroots ones, within transparent mechanisms and according to the capacities of the institutions and the priority of their programs.
2) The involvement of civil society organizations in discussing and formulating all government policies in all fields, so that civil society is effectively present and heard in decision-making spheres.
3) Civil society should be a model to emulate in the field of partnership with government institutions and other civil organizations from the broader society: it should direct its programs and interventions toward national and developmental goals and should strengthen democratic foundations and values in its work and programs.
Topic: Palestinian Politics — civil society · local elections · national fund · governance — Text © Sama News Agency — archived here with attribution to the source. — Original source