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Foreign Assistance: U.S. Assistance to the West Bank and Gaza for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009

GAO-10-623R Published: May 14, 2010. Publicly Released: May 14, 2010.
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Highlights

For decades, the United States has worked toward the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most recently under the 2003 Roadmap for Peace, which calls for an independent Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with the State of Israel. The United States had obligated more than $2.9 billion in bilateral assistance to the West Bank and Gaza focused on further developing the Palestinian economic, social services, and civil society sectors and on strengthening the processes, governance, and security-providing capacity of Palestinian Authority (PA) institutions from fiscal years 1993 through 2009. An additional $400.4 million is planned for fiscal year 2010. Since June 2007, when Hamas-a U.S. designated terrorist organization-seized control of the Gaza Strip, the United States has directed most of its assistance to the West Bank. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is primarily responsible for administering Economic Support Fund (ESF) appropriations. Fiscal year 2008 and 2009 ESF funds support, among other things, priority needs identified in the 2007 Palestinian Reform and Development Plan, as well as humanitarian needs in Gaza following the Israeli-Hamas conflict there from December 2008 through January 2009. For fiscal years 2008 and 2009, the Congress mandated that the Comptroller General of the United States report to the Congress on U.S. assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. In response to these mandates, this report (1) examines the status of USAID's obligations and expenditures of the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 ESF appropriations for the West Bank and Gaza and (2) describes how the USAID mission is obligating the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 funds. In addition, in response to the mandate in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, we previously reported on the extent to which USAID has complied with its policies and procedures to help ensure that its programs do not provide support to entities or individuals associated with terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza.

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Access to health careAccountabilityAgency missionsAppropriated fundsAppropriationsBudget obligationsEconomic developmentEducationFederal fundsForeign assistanceForeign governmentsFunds managementHumanitarian assistanceInternational relationsMission budgetingPrivate sectorStrategic planningTerrorismWater resources developmentPolicies and proceduresTransparency