Protests continue against rising cost of living in the West Bank, analysts

(10 Sep 2012) Palestinian demonstrators fed up with high prices and unpaid salaries shuttered shops, halted traffic with burning tyres and closed schools throughout the West Bank on Monday. It was the largest show of popular discontent with the governing Palestinian Authority in its 18-year history. Palestinians say their salaries can't keep up with the rising price of living. They blame Prime Minister Salam Fayyad for the economic policies of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which has partial self-rule over Palestinians in the West Bank. But Fayyad's government is grappling with a sharp budgetary shortfall because the US and Arab countries that sustain it haven't delivered promised aid money. And he hasn't been able to pay full salaries in months. The strikes touched all large Palestinian urban centres of the West Bank, from Jenin in the north to Hebron in the south. Throughout, public transport drivers blocked roads, youths burned tyres and some shops closed their doors. In one demonstration, youths hollered and cheered as they set tyres alight in protest - sending plumes of black smoke into the air and blocking the main road from the West Bank city of Ramallah to the nearby city of Jerusalem. Nearby, striking taxi and bus drivers daubed a donkey yellow and scrawled "taxi" on it. And in Hebron, protesters gathered in the streets, chanting and waving their arms, and even using a bulldozer to block streets. Some protesters demanded the resignation of Fayyad, who is respected internationally for having cleaned up the corrupt practices of previous Palestinian governments and for putting international financial standards in place in the West Bank. Others also demanded government subsidies for basic goods such as food and fuel, a minimum wage, and the cancellation of a Palestinian trade agreement with Israel. Monday's protests followed a series of small but growing strikes over the past few weeks. A Fayyad spokeswoman said the government's hands were tied because of a previously-warned cash shortfall. "Over a year ago the prime minister warned the public and the international community that the authority is facing a crisis, perhaps the most dangerous since its inception," said Nour Oudeh. The Palestinian Authority has suffered a crippling, months-long cash shortage caused by donors who owe 1.2 (b) billion US dollars in pledged money, finance ministry officials said. The money that the Palestinians say has not been delivered includes 200 (m) million US dollars from the US in budget support, held up by Congress to seek more information about the funds. Donor dollars are crucial because Palestinians have an economy hampered by Israel's control over the West Bank's borders as well as movement inside the territory. Security checks over exports and imports hamper the ability of Palestinian manufacturers to buy cheaper products elsewhere and raise the price of exports. What's more, Israel still directly controls some 60 percent of the West Bank, where 340-thousand Israeli Jews live in settlements deemed illegitimate by the international community. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...