It has become comfortable professional practice amongst international journalists to blame Israel for all the economic woes of the Palestinians. Even during International Holocaust Day, respected Sky News anchorman, Adam Boulton sought to compare the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews to the current hardships of those in Gaza and the West Bank.

In terms of sound bites, one has to wonder why such communicators did not mention how over 2,400 Palestinians have been killed or disappeared amidst the violence in Syria. Similarly, there is silence re the dozens executed by Fatah and Hamas regimes. Surely, this environment of violence and hatred must act as a bigger downer on the Palestinian economy than Israel’s actions.

As for the facts on the ground, we known that the Palestinian economy is dependent on donations. One of the largest component of this is UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Its current annual budget, ignoring special projects, runs to over a billion dollars, putting it as one of the largest international charity in the world. Major donors include Britain and the European Union. UNRWA runs a dedicated assistance programme to help Palestinians rebuild homes. Of the US$ US$585 million dollars promised, barely 25% has been handed over.

Interestingly, despite the name and its initial history, UNRWA is not controlled by the UN. It has no external accountable nor transparent reporting procedures. Thus distributions disappear. When you consider that its educational facilities became army camps for Hamas operatives during last year’s war with Israel, you have to wonder who truly benefits from the hundreds of millions of UK, European and American taxes.

The weak tax base of Palestinians has long been a cause of concern for the IMF and the World Bank. Poor government practices do not enhance the collection process. In parallel, Palestinians are understandably angry at Israel’s decision to withhold excise collected on behalf of the Ramallah Finance Ministry. This is worth over US$100 million a month.

Whatever Israel’s reasoning, Palestinian civil servants, the largest group of wage earners in the economy, are yet again not receiving full salaries. On the other hand, the Saudis have just delivered US$60 million. Similarly, Iraq and Qatar have promised a further US$50 million together. Why does the man in the street not feel these contributions?

And how are Hamas and others able to fund the rebuilding of their military prowess?

The average Palestinian deserves better from his and her leaders. There may not be a lot of joy around, but money is out there, as videos of shops for the elite prove time after time. Palestinians are being deprived of the basic right to receive their fair share of public monies, yet Israel takes the rap.

If you are looking for a suggestion: I note that Iran does not help out with the UNRWA budget. And yet according to an article in the Hebrew newspaper “Calcalist” (Economist), for all the sanctions imposed on Tehran, the Ayatollahs make sure that Hizbollah receives a cool US$100 million annually. Now if those weapons were converted into ploughshares…..but that would require a desire to seek peace.