As the World Bank complains about the lack of donors paying their pledges for Gaza (see my article from earlier), it is worthwhile to look at who exactly hasn’t been paying – and why.
Here is their list as of July 15 sorted by percentage of pledges paid:
| Donor | Support to Gaza | Disbursement of Support to Gaza | Disbursement ratio of Support to Gaza |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Serbia | 0.05 | 0 | 0% |
| Bahrain* | 6.5 | 0.75 | 12% |
| Kuwait | 200 | 29 | 15% |
| UAE | 200 | 29 | 15% |
| Qatar* | 1000 | 192 | 19% |
| Italy5 | 23.7 | 4.7 | 20% |
| Saudi Arabia* | 500 | 113 | 23% |
| Spain | 22.8 | 5.22 | 23% |
| Estonia | 1.27 | 0.32 | 25% |
| Turkey | 200 | 64 | 32% |
| Brazil10 | 5 | 2.4 | 48% |
| Greece | 1.27 | 0.63 | 50% |
| Croatia | 0.4 | 0.25 | 63% |
| Slovenia | 0.19 | 0.127 | 67% |
| Switzerland | 70.4 | 59 | 84% |
| European Union1 | 348 | 297 | 85% |
| Norway2 | 145 | 126 | 87% |
| Germany | 63.3 | 57.9 | 91% |
| USA | 277 | 277 | 100% |
| World Bank | 62 | 62 | 100% |
| Algeria | 61.4 | 61.4 | 100% |
| Japan4 | 61 | 61 | 100% |
| UK | 32.2 | 32.2 | 100% |
| The Netherlands | 15.3 | 15.3 | 100% |
| Canada | 14.7 | 14.7 | 100% |
| Denmark | 14.5 | 14.5 | 100% |
| Australia | 13.2 | 13.2 | 100% |
| France7 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 100% |
| Finland | 9.3 | 9.3 | 100% |
| Russia | 8.7 | 8.7 | 100% |
| Belgium8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 100% |
| Austria9 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 100% |
| India | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| Ireland | 3.17 | 3.17 | 100% |
| South Korea | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Mexico | 1.1 | 1.1 | 100% |
| Chile | 0.25 | 0.25 | 100% |
| Hungary | 0.16 | 0.16 | 100% |
| Poland | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Malaysia | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Singapore | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100% |
| Bulgaria | 0.06 | 0.06 | 100% |
| Slovakia | 0.05 | 0.05 | 100% |
| Romania | 0.05 | 0.05 | 100% |
| Portugal | 0.03 | 0.03 | 100% |
| Sweden | 10 | 11.4 | 114% |
Notice how poorly the Arab states are in paying their pledges.
Again, the World Bank doesn’t mention the obvious. And it doesn’t try to figure out why.
An op-ed in a Gulf newspaper a few days ago explains it. It describes how tired the Arab nations are about the Palestinian issue, especially the infighting between Fatah and Hamas over leadership, causing the split between Gaza and the West Bank.
It says that the recent collapse of the scheduled local elections is just the latest in a series of events showing that Palestinian leaders care little about their own people, who are kept prisoner by the disputes and narrow factional interests of Hamas and Fatah. Their actions have nothing to do with helping their people and everything to do with holding on to power.
The Arab world is keenly aware of this dynamic, and they have no interest in throwing money into a bottomless pit of greed and corruption.
While the World Bank report mentions some economic issues associated with the Fatah/Hamas split, such as how Gazans don’t pay their share of taxes, it ignores how Arab donors have lost interest in the Palestinian issue altogether especially when they have their own problems that are often far, far worse.
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