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06 August 2012 By Stephen
Lendman Washington controls the World
Bank. Current president Jim Yong Kim formerly was
Dartmouth College president. The World Bank and IMF were
established to integrate developing nations into the
Global North-dominated world economy. They've done it in ways other
than originally mandated. The IMF was created to
stabilize exchange rates linked to the dollar. Its
purpose was also to bridge temporary payment
imbalances. The World Bank was supposed to
provide credit to war-torn developing countries. Both
bodies operate exploitively. They use debt entrapment
to transfer public wealth to Western bankers and other
corporate predators. They obligate indebted nations to
take new loans to service old ones. Doing so assures
debt entrapment. Remedies proposed don't work.
Structural adjustment harshness is imposed.
Neighborhood loan sharks are benign by comparison. Both bodies are imperial tools.
Debt freedom, equality, justice, and other democratic
values are verboten. So is Palestinian statehood. A new World Bank Report says
Palestine isn't ready for prime time. According to
economist John Nasir: "The Palestinian Authority (PA)
has made steady progress in many years towards
establishing the institutions required by a future
state but the economy is currently not strong enough
to support such a state." "Economic sustainability cannot
be based on foreign aid so it is critical for the PA
to increase trade and spur private sector growth." Nasir may or may not know
economics. He knows little or nothing about
international law. He knows less about right and
wrong. More on that below. He says the Palestinian Authority
faces financial crisis conditions. It's debt level is
$1.5 billion. It's cash shortfall is $500 million. America's national debt
approaches $16 trillion. About another $1.5 trillion
is added annually. No World Bank official cries foul.
No one says its economy can't support statehood. According to Nasir: "While the Palestinian Authority
has had considerable success in building the
institutions of a future state, it has made less
progress in developing a sustainable economic base." "....Israel's security
restrictions continue to stymie investment and the
recent growth has largely been driven by donor aid.
This situation is unsustainable and aid levels have
already begun to fall." At issue is Israel's illegal
occupation. Nasir left that issue unaddressed. It's
key but wasn't part of his focus. Instead he misstated
facts on the ground. He claimed talks broke down in
September 2010. Israel doesn't negotiates. It
demands. Military occupation is hardline and
repressive. Peace and sovereign independence are
verboten. Resolving decades of conflict can't happen
without world community help. Nasir ignored reality, saying: "Barring a political solution to
the conflict, there is little that can be done about
these constraints." "However, there are a number of
areas where the PA can focus its attention to not only
improve current performance, but to lay the groundwork
for a future state." "A future Palestinian state
should seek to emulate Asian countries that have
managed to sustain high levels of economic growth by
adopting an outward orientation and integrating into
world supply chains." World Bank officials march in
lockstep with Israeli lawlessness. So do heads of
Western states. Israel gets away with murder. It prevents sovereign Palestinian
independence. It qualified decades ago. It meets
Montevideo Convention criteria. International law
expert Francis Boyle explained. It has a "determinable
territory." It doesn't have to be fixed and
determinate. Border negotiations can follow. Gaza, the
West Bank and East Jerusalem comprise its state.
Palestinians lived there for centuries. It's their
sovereign land. Its population is fixed and
permanent. Its government functions. In
1988, Yasser Arafat declared the PLO Palestine's
Provisional Government. It's able to have diplomatic
relations with other nations. The great majority of UN
member states support its sovereignty. On December 15, 1988, the General
Assembly recognized its legitimacy. It accorded it
observer status. Full de jure membership is long
overdue. So is universal world
recognition. All UN Charter states provisionally
recognized Palestinian independence in accordance with
UN Charter article 80(1) and League of Nations
Covenant article 22(4). As the League's successor, the
General Assembly has exclusive legal authority to
designate the PLO Palestine's legitimate
representative. The Palestine National Council
(PNC) is the PLO's legislative body. It's empowerered
to proclaim Palestine's existence. According to binding 1925
Palestine Citizenship Order in Council provisions,
Palestinians, their children and grandchildren are
automatically citizens of the new state. So are
diaspora Palestinians. Sovereign Palestine exists. It
fully qualifies for recognition. It's peace loving. It
accepts UN Charter obligations. It's able and willing
to enforce them. The General Assembly has sole
authority to grant de jure membership by a simple
two-thirds majority. The Security Council only
recommends admissions. It has no veto power to prevent
them. If Washington or another
permanent member invokes it, the General Assembly can
override under the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution
377. Nasir claiming Palestine isn't ready for prime
time doesn't wash. An April 2011 UN study concurred.
The Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the
Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) said: In "territory under its control
and within the constraints on the ground imposed by
unresolved political issues, the PA has accelerated
progress in improving its governmental functions." "In six areas where the UN is
most engaged, governmental functions are now
sufficient for a functioning government of a state." It's "well positioned for the
establishment of a state at any point in the near
future." At the time, separate World Bank/IMF
assessments agreed. Nasir likely doesn't read WB
reports. Its conclusion about Palestine contradicts
his own. UNSCO said Palestine qualifies in
areas where UN bodies are most engaged. They include
governance, rule of law and human rights, livelihoods
and productive sectors, education and culture, health,
social protection, and infrastructure and water. At the same time it cautioned, as
long as occupation continues, conflict conditions
remain unresolved, and divisions between Hamas and
Fatah persist, "the institutional achievements of the
Palestinian state-building agenda are approaching
their limits within the political and physical space
currently available." UN Special Coordinator for Middle
East Peace Process Robert Serry said "further steps on
the ground" are urgently needed. Occupation harshness
must end. Unlike previous ones, legitimate
independently monitored peace talks must be held. Israeli might has veto power.
Overriding it is key. World leaders are empowered to
do it. Political will alone is absent. Sovereign
Palestinian freedom depends on reversing longstanding
policy. Nothing else prevents what's long overdue. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces
America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and
Class War" http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished
guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
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