Palestinian Infrastructure & Transport

"An Introduction"

Electricity:

In the West bank, the long-established East Jerusalem based Jerusalem District Electricity Company, JDEC, owned by Palestinian shareholders and municipalities, is the principal supplier of power. Diesel generators used in many villages and by some municipalities, are the only power generating capacity in OPT. Most electricity to the rest of the OPT is supplied by the Israel Electric Corporation. Palestinians pay between 15% and 40% more than Israelis, who consume 13 times more electricity per head than Palestinians in the OPT Around 40% of the rural population have electricity for only a few hours per day. Some 138 Palestinian villages have no electricity supply or only part-time supply from diesel generators. Per capita electricity productions is low at about 620 kwh (in 1992) and actuarial consumption is even lower due to high distribution losses (20%) caused by too small conductor sizes, overloaded transformers and the long lengths of feeders.

Solid Waste Services:

Very inadequate throughout the OPT. There are no modern sanitary landfills and refuse in simply dumped outside municipal boundaries, often burned to reduce volume. The collection of garbage does by far not meet the needs of residents. Open sewages are also common in many areas and affect negatively the quality of water.

Telecommunications:

The infrastructure in this sector is very underdeveloped with the ratio of telephone subscribers to total population at 1:46. By the end of 1991, only 80 of 400 villages in the West Bank had telephone services; often there is only one connection, and this is, due to poor maintenance, frequently out of service.

Transport:

The existing transport facilities in the OPT are inadequate to provide a cost-effective service. Since 1967, investment in the sector has been primarily been designed according to Israeli security concerns and settlement needs. The weakening of local Government since the occupation has led to a deterioration of road networks within the municipalities.

Road transportation is the only mode available for passenger services. The industry is in private hands and consist of bus companies and taxi services, and additionally, unlicensed private cars and mini-buses.. Buses operate on a franchise system; the majority (70%) of companies operate only one or two buses. Less than 25% of the busses are allocated to inter-regional transport while over 75% with no bus services, although some villages run unlicensed systems of pickup vans and taxis. Half of the bus fleet is more than 12 years old. Other transport modes were closed to operation in 1948 or, respectively, following the occupation and finally abandoned. Before 1948, for example, Palestine was served by three ports (Jaffa, Gaza, Acre), and from 1952-1967 there was an airport open to international air traffic in Qalandia/Jerusalem.

Transportation the OPT

Source: Developing the Occupied Territories - An Investment in Peace: Infrastructure. World Bank, 1993.

Social Services:

Due to the occupation, major components of national systems are absent, such as mortgage, social welfare programs, probation and aftercare of offenders and child protection. Social Welfare Departments of the Israeli Civil Administration mainly control services, rather than implementing, funding or developing them. Most social service facilities are funded by charitable societies and NGOs (e.g. rehabilitation services, day care for children and elderly). Killings, detention and injuries during the Intifada, the loss of remittances from abroad following the 1991 Gulf War, and of wages form Israel due to the ongoing closure policy, added to social service needs and increased the work of charitable societies (188 in the West Bank by 1986, half of which already existed before 1967).

Supporting Services:

Services such as auditing, accounting, marketing and distribution have not yet developed such that currently, there are only few offices/agencies offering professional services.

Source: PASSIA - Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs