[Title] New Japanese Assistance Package and Confidence-building initiative
I. Outline
The Government of Japan will implement a total amount of 22.25 million dollars of assistance (including accepting about 100 Palestinian trainees) and other assistance projects implemented by NGO etc. through the scheme of "Grant assistance for grass-roots human security projects "
II. Projects
1. Humanitarian assistance(Total amount of 12.9 million dollars)
(1) Emergency Humanitarian Assistance
This project provides basic humanitarian assistance materials including food, drinking water and medicine for the poor in the Palestinian territories.
Amount: 500,000 dollars
Implementing Organization: United Nations Development Plan (UNDP)
(2) Providing Vaccines
Vaccines are the most acutely needed of all the basic materials in very short supply for the Palestinians. This project will assist the vaccination campaign for FY 2003.
Amount: 2 million dollars
Implementing Organization: United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF)
(3)Assistance for the Palestinian Refugees
This project will assist the activities of the UNRWA ( United Nations Relief and Works Agency), which provides social services including medical care and education for the Palestinian refugees who are in the most desperate need of assistance.
Amount: about 6 million dollars
Implementing Organization: UNRWA
(4)Food assistance for the Palestinian refugees
This food assistance project is for the Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Amount: about 4.2 million dollars
Implementing Organization: UNRWA
(5)Assistance for ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)
This is to assist the activities of the ICRC, which provides medical care in the Palestinian territories.
Amount: about 0.2 million dollars
Implementing Organization: ICRC
(6)Providing basic services through NGOs
This project will assist NGOs and local governments which are providing basic services to the residents of the Palestinian territories efficiently and effectively, in spite of the poor security situation on the ground through the scheme of "Grant assistance for grass-roots human security projects "
2. Assistance for Restoring and Reforming the Palestinian Authority ( total amount of 7.85million dollars)
(1)Assistance for the reform of the Palestinian Authority
This project is for assisting construction of the new Prime Minister's Office to enable the well-ordered execution of the agendas by the newly appointed Prime Minister, aiming at facilitating the reform efforts of the Palestinian Authority.
Amount: 1.2 million dollars
Implementing Organization: UNDP
(2)Assistance for Judiciary reform
This project is for construction of a Court House and a Judiciary Agency Office in Khan Yunis, Gaza, aiming at promoting the reform efforts of the Palestinian Authority particularly in the judicial field.
Amount: 3.5 million dollars
Implementing Organization: UNDP
(3)Assistance for job creation through restoring the infrastructure in Gaza strip
This project aims at ,job creation through restoring the damaged infrastructures and facilitating the movement of people and goods in the major cities in Gaza strip
Amount: 1.7 million dollars
Implementing Organizations: UNDP, Local governments
(4)Human Resource Building
This project is for conducting training for about 100 Palestinian experts in Japan, Jordan and other countries in the field of auditing, judiciary and others, aiming at building human resources indispensable for promoting the reform efforts of the Palestinian Authority.
Amount: 1.45 million dollars
Implementing Organization: JICA
(5)Assistance for job creation through restoring the infrastructure in the West Bank
Projects aiming at job creation through restoring the infrastructure (so-called " life-line") in the major cities in the West Bank such as Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Salfit, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah where serious damages to the infrastructure were caused by the Israeli military incursions will be implemented through the scheme of "Grant assistance for grass-roots human security projects ".
3. Confidence Building (total amount of about 1.5 million dollars)
(1) Israeli-Palestinian Joint Project for improving waste disposal capability of the local governments
In the Palestinian territories, there are serious environmental problems in many local governments and local residents' frustration and despair is mounting. There is also a risk of pollution in the underground water and the spread of infectious diseases, if this situation is left unaddressed. Especially, at the waste disposal facility in Ramallah in the West Bank, where local residents are restricted by Israeli government from accessing the waste disposal facilities in the adjacent Al Bireh city, concern over hygiene and water pollution is mounting. This assistance is for planning, implementation and monitoring of the projects for expanding the current waste disposal facility and building an alternative waste disposal, by establishing joint Steering Committee including Japan, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
Amount: 1.5 million dollars
Implementing Organizations: Ministry of Local government, Ministry of Environment
(2) Assistance for confidence building between Israelis and Palestinians
The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has continued for the past two and a half years, causing serious casualties in terms of human life and damaged property on both the Israelis and the Palestinian sides. This also aggravates deep-rooted distrust and hatred. In order to achieve "two-state vision," which aims at realizing the peaceful coexistence of the two states of Israeli and Palestine, it is necessary to promote confidence building through various levels of dialogues and cooperation. This project aims at supporting through the scheme of "Grant assistance for grass-roots human security projects" NGOs and local governments that carry out activities such as raising public awareness, cooperation and peace activities between Israelis and Palestinians.