EU Aid in Palestine: Financialising Development Solutions under Occupation

Date: Wednesday, 4th October 2022

Time: 14:00 CET / 15:00 Palestine (1,5 h)

As the leading aid donor in Palestine, the European Union's assistance framework has been primarily centred around financing development with the aim of supporting Palestine in building a state that would ultimately lead to the end of Israel's occupation. Despite recent flows of major investments in the form of loans to the Palestinian private sector, it is evident that this approach has faced significant challenges and has not achieved the desired outcomes.

The webinar "EU Aid in Palestine: Financialising Development Solutions under Occupation" will feature a short presentation of the recent research paper ‘Official Development Assistance and Blended Finance in Palestine’ and insightful discussions that highlight the current issues with the EU's development aid policy in Palestine within the context of an increasing reliance of Western aid donors on leveraging private sector finance for development. Moreover, it will explore alternative development policies that can better address Palestine's economic reality and help achieve its development goals. The webinar is organised by ACT Alliance EU, Counter Balance and the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute – MAS.

To attend, please register here by 3rd October, 17:00 CET / 18:00 Palestine.

Agenda and speakers

Introductory remarks: Raja Khalidi (Director of MAS)

Presentation of the research paper: Luis Abu Ghattas (Economic Expert and Researcher)

Discussants:

Rasha Qawasmi (CEO at ASALA for Credit and Development)

Alexandra Gerasimcikova (Policy and Advocacy Officer, Counter Balance)

Zayne Abu Daqqa (Co-Founder and Director of Research at Momentum Labs)

Moderator: Mélina Chaput (Middle East Policy Advisor, ACT Alliance EU)