Action memorandum for the Deputy Assistant Administrator (NE), Bureau for Europe and the Near East : Palestinian-Israeli cooperation program (398-0378)

The support envisioned under the project is highly charged politically, and great care will be taken in identifying joint programs appropriate for USAID support. As a result, only modest financial assistance (maximum $25,000 per activity) will be provided; this will provide the opportunity to assess the project"s political and programmatic impact. Activities already identified for support include the following: (1) $15,000-$25,000 to Hotline, enabling this organization, which is jointly staffed and directed by Palestinians and Israelis, to open offices experimentally in Ramallah and Bethlehem and thereby assist Palestinians in reporting human rights violations; (2) $15,000-$25,000 to the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information to finance meetings of water experts, evaluate water plans, collect data on water conditions, and formulate options for resolving water use and other causes of conflict; (3) $15,000-$25,000 to the Workers" Hotline for Protection of Workers" Rights to expand computer facilities and legal staffing and thereby increase legal aid to Palestinian workers and to lobby the Knesset to change discriminatory laws; and (4) $15,000-$25,000 to B"TSelem, to finance additional field work by its Israeli and Palestinian staff in investigating and reporting human rights abuses and promoting greater respect for such in both communities.