Rebuilding on W. Bank Rubble to Be Costly, Report Says

Israel’s military offensive last month against Palestinian areas of the West Bank resulted in $361 million in wrecked roads, squashed cars, broken computers and destroyed buildings, along with several times that amount in indirect damage, according to a report released Wednesday by donor countries and international agencies.

According to the group’s report, the West Bank city of Nablus suffered the greatest direct damage, estimated at $114 million, with almost half of that linked to destruction at cultural sites. An ancient public bath, historic houses and the Khadra mosque were hit hard and will require specialized contractors. Some of the sites date back almost 1,000 years.

The West Bank cities of Jenin, Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem each suffered heavy damage, ranging from $23.8 million to $82.7 million, according to the report.

The group, known as the Local Aid Coordination Committee, is made up of United Nations agencies, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and nations that provide aid to Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The $361-million figure cited by the group represents only the most obvious damage, said members of the team that assembled the report. The broad-based damage to the regional economy is far greater.

Nor did the group survey damage in the heavily populated Gaza Strip, which was left largely untouched by the Israeli army in its recent five-week incursion. A decision was made to put off that study until it was clear whether the Israelis are going to send troops in there too for an extended campaign.

“If you look at the indirect damage, the overall figure rises to over $2 billion,” said Geir Pedersen, Norwegian representative to the Palestinian Authority. “And if anything happens in Gaza, we’ll definitely have to go in again. I hope we won’t.”

Assembling the damage report was relatively easy compared with the next task: finding money to pay the repair bill. Donor countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy and France, pledged a total of about $150 million at a meeting Monday. It’s unlikely the full amount needed will be reached, however, given donor fatigue and concerns that repaired infrastructure might be destroyed again in future combat.

Israel is a member of the donor committee but is not expected to help rebuild the sites hit as part of a concentrated campaign against terrorism.

“If anyone wants to send a bill, send it to [Palestinian Authority President] Yasser Arafat,” said Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “He’s the one who launched the terrorist activities.”

Israeli defense forces have come under criticism in recent weeks for destroying Palestinian culture and education ministries, police stations, municipal offices and schools in their bid to root out Palestinian militants.

Nigel Roberts, World Bank representative to the West Bank and Gaza, said Wednesday it was difficult to see how many of the sites damaged by the Israeli military represented a security threat.

Many of the sites were not mere ministries or schools, countered Lt. Col. Olivier Rafowicz, a spokesman for the Israeli military.

“When you look at the Education Ministry, it’s been very supportive of terrorism in books and classes,” he said. “They’re training a whole generation for violence. I would ask you to be a little suspicious of the Education Ministry.”

In recent weeks, the Palestinian Authority has come under growing internal and external pressure to reform itself and stem corruption. Donor countries are concerned that the money they provide will not be used for its intended purposes.

World Bank officials said ultimately the reform impetus must come from within the Palestinian leadership. The problem also must be put in perspective, they added, citing their agency’s survey of international businesspeople last year that rated Arab countries as more corrupt than the Palestinian territories.

In the case of the Palestinians, however, some donors have been asked to fund the same projects more than once, given the military destruction.

“A couple of countries said, ‘We’ve spent a lot of money, now that’s destroyed. What guarantee do we have that soldiers won’t come in and do it again?’” said Timothy Rothermel, special representative with the United Nations Development Program. “And sure, there’s donor fatigue out there as well.”

Israel could improve the welfare of the Palestinian areas and help its own long-term security by easing the tough travel restrictions in the West Bank, argued Michael Keating, director of socioeconomic affairs for UNESCO. The limits hamper trade, prevent people from working and delay any semblance of normal life.

“I don’t think economic collapse and social despair are in the interest of the Palestinians, of course,” Keating said. “But they’re also not in Israel’s interest. It creates fertile ground for violence.”

Development officials also would like Israel to release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue it collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under a joint tax treaty. Karim Nashashibi, an International Monetary Fund representative, said the figure due was $507 million as of December and has grown an estimated $30 million a month since.

The World Bank’s Roberts said the donor group has seen no evidence that the Palestinian Authority’s budget is used to finance terrorism, a central Israeli argument against handing over the money.

But Gissin, the spokesman for Sharon, said Israel would continue to withhold payment until it was sure that funds weren’t either lining the pockets of Palestinian officials or buying weapons.

“The World Bank doesn’t know where the money goes, but we do,” he said. “All the money Arafat received went to his own coffers or to purchase arms or finance suicide bombers.”

Israel’s restrictions have affected many health, social and environmental areas of Palestinian life, said Mohammed Said Alhmaidi, donor country coordinator for Ramallah.

Alhmaidi said he has been trying for the past three months to gain Israeli permits to remove tons of human, commercial, toxic, chemical and medical waste in Ramallah, only to be told repeatedly that moving it represents a security risk. This has forced authorities to store the materials in open areas, which risks contaminating the food supply, ground water and people’s health. “They just keep saying no,” he said.

Officials added that the Palestinians remain resilient and that if aid is distributed soon, most West Bank infrastructure problems could be repaired within a year.