* Our success or failure in this government depends on our ability to strengthen the steadfastness of citizens and the survival of our youth in their homeland.

* We have developed a short-term relief plan for the first year after the war and another for comprehensive reconstruction of Gaza in cooperation with international bodies.

* Our slogan at the Ministry of Planning is: “We promise Hind Ragab and all children to rebuild the sector and restore hope for a better future.”

* We made intensive efforts to enhance international support, and the European Union alone provided support worth 400 million euros in just 3 months.

* Any development project by ministries or government agencies must be consistent with the comprehensive plan “Build Palestine”.

* 30 years of work at the World Bank, during which I helped 40 countries develop development projects.

Palestinian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Wael Zaqout confirmed in an exclusive interview with "Al Quds" that his international experience gained from working at the World Bank contributed to formulating his reform and development vision, stressing the importance of focusing on development and reform plans to meet urgent needs and sustain development. He also stressed that this vision must be adapted to the complex Palestinian reality.

Zaqout spoke about the economic and social crises that have worsened due to the Israeli occupation and aggression on Gaza, explaining that the government is working on two plans: the first, short-term, to contain the humanitarian disaster, provide relief to the displaced, and resolve the financial crisis resulting from Israel withholding a large portion of the clearance revenues, and the second, long-term, to rebuild Gaza, strengthen the economy, and create job opportunities, in cooperation with donor institutions and countries.

He pointed out that the government launched a comprehensive plan entitled "Build Palestine", which focuses on four main pillars, including the reconstruction of Gaza, the unification of Palestinian institutions, administrative, financial and economic reform, and the promotion of job opportunities.

He also referred to seven major initiatives aimed at enhancing development, most notably renewable energy, digital transformation, localizing health services, developing the education and agriculture sectors, and empowering local government, stressing the importance of partnership with the private sector as part of the national strategy to provide job opportunities and strengthen the economy.

Zaqout stressed that Palestinian steadfastness depends on the government's ability to provide a decent life and the means for citizens to remain in their homeland.

The following is the text of the interview:

Extensive experience in leading institutional reform and dealing with governments

*You worked at the World Bank before assuming the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. How did these international experiences affect your vision of the role of the ministry? What lessons did you learn that can be applied to the current Palestinian reality?

- I worked at the World Bank for nearly 30 years, during which I helped about 40 countries develop agricultural, urban, and water projects. I held several leadership positions, including the position of Sector Manager at the World Bank for the Eastern Europe region, where I was responsible for water and urban development projects. I also worked as the World Bank’s Regional Director in Yemen during the critical period between 2012 and 2015, which witnessed major challenges due to the Arab revolutions.

Through my long career at the World Bank, I have gained extensive experience in leadership, professional work and dealing with governments, as most of our projects focused on cooperation with government institutions. More importantly, I learned how to work on developing government institutions and reforming their financial and administrative systems, which is a fundamental factor for the progress of countries. This process is a goal that all countries strive for.

In my career, I have worked with several countries, such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Greece during their severe economic crises, and I participated in developing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and participated in reforming the land and real estate sector in Egypt. These experiences gave me a deep knowledge of how to formulate development and institutional reform programs, drawing on global expertise.

However, I have learned that the process of development and reform is not easy. Despite the clarity of the vision and plan, it is necessary to determine what can be implemented in the short, medium and long term. The challenges lie in the increasing demands of the people that every country faces, in addition to the need to understand the political and institutional structure of the country and overcome the obstacles that may stand in the way of implementation.

We work non-stop to prepare for the day after war.

* Your appointment as Minister of Planning comes amidst a legacy of difficult financial and administrative crises, the accumulation of public debt and entitlements on the government, and the crises resulting from the war on Gaza, and the challenges it creates that will actually begin with the end of the war. How do you, as a Palestinian government, work to manage these crises in these two directions?

- The current situation is extremely difficult, and is an extension of the suffering we have been experiencing since the Nakba of 1948, as we have been facing an ongoing occupation for 76 years, during which we have gone through extremely harsh stages. But what is happening today in Gaza goes beyond all those stages, from killing, destruction, starvation, and genocide. In the West Bank, too, Israeli violations are escalating from repeated aggression to stifling economic restrictions; Israel is withholding 60% of the monthly clearance funds, preventing our workers who work for it from reaching their places of work, and imposing severe restrictions on freedom of movement through the widespread checkpoints, which exacerbates the challenges facing our government work.

Despite these circumstances, we are doing our best to raise the voice of our people in Gaza, where I meet with ambassadors from countries around the world to talk about the suffering of our people there, and to convey clear messages with the aim of mobilizing international support for a ceasefire, and ending the policy of starvation, displacement and genocide practiced by the Israeli occupation.

At the same time, we are working on preparing plans to rebuild Gaza immediately after the war ends, to ensure that we are ready for the day after the war. In cooperation with the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union, we have developed two basic plans:

The first plan: A short-term plan for the first year after the war. This plan focuses on providing relief to our displaced people and helping them overcome emergency conditions. It includes providing temporary homes and tents for the displaced, and restoring partially damaged homes, in addition to restoring the educational process for our people in Gaza, by providing temporary housing for the displaced people who are currently in schools, which allows education to gradually return to normal.

The second plan: A comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza. This plan includes extensive international efforts in cooperation with the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and friendly countries such as Germany, Britain, Belgium, and Italy, in addition to other countries that we seek to include in an international coalition led by the Palestinian government to rebuild the Gaza Strip. The scale of destruction in Gaza exceeds our capabilities as a Palestinian people and state, so we rely on international partnerships to rebuild the Strip and restore hope.

Our slogan at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation is clear: “We promise Hind Rajab, and all the children of Gaza, to rebuild the Strip and restore hope for a better future.”

A plan based on an integrated partnership between the government, the private sector and the community.

* How does the Ministry reformulate development plans in response to current challenges, so as to meet urgent needs and enhance the resilience of Palestinians in various social, economic, spatial, and cultural sectors, with a focus on rebuilding Gaza and the affected areas in the West Bank, especially in the northern regions?

The nineteenth Palestinian government launched a document entitled “Build Palestine,” which is a plan through which we are working to establish the foundations for building a future independent Palestinian state, to be self-sufficient to care for our Palestinian people. There are four foundations:

1- Rebuilding Gaza: Rebuilding Gaza is a top priority as a fundamental step towards building an independent Palestinian state, and for the new Gaza to be more beautiful and modern than it was before, in a manner befitting the steadfastness and sacrifices of its people.

2- Unifying the institutions between the two parts of the homeland: It is important to work to achieve national unity between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to work to unify the institutions between the southern and northern governorates under the framework of one state and one government. The plan includes mechanisms to integrate all state institutions and employees, including the security services, to ensure the unity of institutional work.

3- Development and reform: Developing Palestinian national institutions is a pivotal element in the plan, as efforts include modernizing the administrative, financial, and judicial systems with a focus on judicial independence. Reforms also include strengthening the Palestinian economic system to become independent from economic dependence on Israel, as Palestine currently depends on Israel for electricity, water, goods, and fuel. The plan sets out a comprehensive vision for administrative, financial, and economic reform to reduce this excessive dependence on the occupation.

4- Developing the economy and creating job opportunities: Developing the national economy is a fundamental goal for building the state, with a focus on providing job opportunities for the Palestinian people. The government’s role is to ensure security and provide basic services such as health and education, but the state cannot employ all citizens. There is the private sector, which is the main driver for providing job opportunities. We will work in the government to establish laws and regulations that encourage the private sector to be a real partner in economic development, which will allow the Palestinian people, including those working in Israel and the settlements, to move to work in Palestinian institutions, companies, factories and farms.

Our plan is based on an integrated partnership between the government, the private sector and society, to secure a better future for our people and build an independent Palestinian state capable of achieving the aspirations of its people.

Palestinian Initiatives towards Sustainable Development

* The ministry’s slogan is “Towards sustainable and comprehensive development.” What efforts are you making to achieve this vision in light of the occupation and repeated wars, and how do you respond to those who see this vision as unrealistic in the current circumstances?

The current Palestinian government has developed comprehensive development plans to chart a better future for the Palestinian people, most notably the “Build Palestine” plan, which provides a strategic vision for the medium and long-term future. The government has launched seven major initiatives under the auspices of the Prime Minister, aiming to develop vital sectors that can be worked on away from the interference of the Israeli occupation.

1- Renewable Energy Initiative: This initiative seeks to expand renewable energy production to meet the needs of government institutions, schools, universities, mosques, and others. This initiative is not linked to the occupation, which allows it to be developed flexibly and independently.

2- Digital Transformation Initiative: The current government seeks to enhance digital transformation in all sectors of Palestinian society, to facilitate the communication process between citizens and the government, and between citizens and private companies, which contributes to improving services and enhancing efficiency.

3- Localization of Health Services Initiative: The Palestinian government spends about $400 million annually on medical transfers to Israel, Jordan and other countries, due to the shortage of medicines, medical equipment and beds in hospitals inside Palestine. This initiative aims to develop the local health sector to provide these services internally, which contributes to saving this huge amount and enhancing health independence. These efforts do not face obstacles from the occupation.

4- The Agricultural Sector Initiative: This initiative aims to exploit Palestinian lands for agriculture, which contributes to enhancing national production, providing job opportunities, and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land.

5- Initiative to improve the quality of education: The Palestinian education system suffers from poor quality compared to neighboring countries according to international standards, as the government is working on a comprehensive plan to develop education.

6- Local Government Empowerment Initiative: The government works to empower local councils to provide the best services to Palestinian citizens by increasing the powers of local councils.

7- Focus on possible sectors: The government is working to identify sectors that can be developed and worked on without obstacles from the occupation, focusing its efforts on achieving progress in these areas to enhance the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and achieve comprehensive development.

We are working to employ all available capabilities to build a better future for our people, based on a clear vision and specific goals that we can achieve, despite all the challenges.

Increasing international support to boost the Palestinian economy

* Despite the obstacles, the government was able to mobilize significant international support this year. How important is this support in light of Israel’s piracy of clearance funds? Are there promises of continued support, especially after promises of the return of American aid?

- Since taking office, we have made intensive efforts to enhance international support from various donors. In this context, the European Union has provided support worth 400 million euros in just three months. We are also currently working on a comprehensive program for institutional development and reform, which is expected to receive EU support, and we will continue discussing it in the coming weeks.

In addition, we were able to increase the annual support provided by the World Bank from $75 million to $300 million annually. We also received promises of increased financial support from other countries, including Germany, Britain, and the United States. These efforts are part of our plans to strengthen the national economy and achieve sustainable development despite the challenges.

Special Department to Enhance Public-Private Cooperation

* You are trying to strengthen partnership with the private sector as a partial alternative to international support. What is your strategy to achieve this goal in light of criticism that partnership may be conditional, and do you believe that the private sector can provide a real window of hope for development?

- The Palestinian private sector is an integral part of the Palestinian economy and society, and is a key partner in achieving development. Global economies typically consist of three main components: government, civil society, and the private sector, none of which can succeed alone. The role of government is to set public policies, provide basic services, enhance security, and create an attractive investment environment that enables the private sector to operate and compete, not to control it.

In most countries of the world, the private sector contributes between 70% and 80% to providing job opportunities, which highlights its importance as a fundamental pillar for stimulating the Palestinian economy. For this reason, the government is working to strengthen partnership with the private sector to provide job opportunities and support development.

We have established a special department in the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors, and we will soon set clear laws and standards to regulate this partnership. The goal is to provide an investment environment that encourages the private sector to innovate and compete locally and internationally, which contributes to supporting the steadfastness of our people and achieving sustainable development.

Criteria for selecting development projects

* What are the criteria adopted by the Ministry to select development project priorities, especially after emergency events such as war? Do these priorities change according to changing needs on the ground?

- The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation prioritizes development projects based on three main criteria. First, the submitted project must be consistent with the comprehensive plan “Build Palestine” approved by the Council of Ministers. Any project from ministries or government agencies must be consistent with the priorities of this strategic plan.

Second, the project’s integrity is assessed, meaning that it has moved beyond the initial idea stage to the full planning stage. The project plan should include clear objectives, performance indicators, a detailed implementation plan, and the project’s beneficiaries. These details are essential to ensure that the project is effective in achieving its goals.

The third criterion is based on the previous performance records (track record) of the ministry or agency that submitted the project. If the institution has shown good performance in previous years, its project will be accepted, but if there are problems in implementing previous projects, the new project will not be approved.

These criteria ensure the selection of sustainable and effective development projects that meet the needs of Palestinian society in light of current challenges.

Ministry strategies under harsh conditions

* How does the Ministry deal with the challenges of movement restrictions and destroyed infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, and what innovative solutions does it implement to ensure that development projects there are implemented effectively?

The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation does not implement projects directly, but rather cooperates with the relevant ministries to ensure their effective implementation. Part of the Ministry’s role is to review the project plan and communicate with donors to secure the necessary funding.

In Gaza, the humanitarian situation is extremely complex, with the most significant challenges being restrictions on movement and frequently destroyed infrastructure. The most important thing we can do is to make our children’s voices heard, demanding that countries with strong influence in the international community use their influence to pressure the Israeli occupation to stop the aggression and the ongoing destruction in Gaza. We also demand increased humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the affected population.

On the other hand, we are working with some international institutions to provide basic services such as electricity and water to the accessible areas, despite the occupation’s continuous attempts to destroy what is being repaired.

In the West Bank, especially in the north, we have witnessed repeated destruction of infrastructure, with roads and water lines repeatedly damaged more than six times during the recent incursions. In order to address this quickly, a government committee was formed to assess the damage after each incursion and work to repair it immediately.

Institutional Development and Reform Plan

* There is undoubtedly criticism of the current government, and of a number of decisions it has taken in light of the crises and talk about the institutional development and reform plan. Civil society institutions also issue reports and studies that go beyond criticism to proposing formulas for reform and procedures to overcome crises. How do you deal with this criticism in light of what we have heard about your continued keenness to listen to citizens’ opinions and monitor different points of view?

- I respect the opinions of others, and I believe in the importance of listening to different points of view. I have held many meetings with civil society organizations and youth to listen to their opinions and comments. We have also developed a reform plan and have already started implementing part of it, but we have not started working on the largest part of the comprehensive plan yet. We are about to start implementing the rest of the plan after completing internal discussions within the government about it.

It is natural for opinions to differ on any development and reform program, but we are still at the beginning of the road. We are in the first six months of the new government’s term, which is a very short period to work on development and reform issues, especially in light of the difficult circumstances we face in Palestine.

I call on our generous people and the institutions of the international community to give us an opportunity to prove ourselves and work to implement the plans we have set for the long term.

Our steadfastness means our ability to provide a decent life for our people.

* How does the Ministry assess the Palestinian economic performance in light of the successive crises, and what interventions do you intend to implement to deal with the impact of international and regional variables on the national economy?

- The Palestinian national economy has faced major challenges in recent years, with a contraction of 35%, and we have lost about 500,000 jobs since October 7, which is a very high percentage. Today, we are in the midst of a devastating war that history has never seen before, and these are huge challenges by all standards. But the most important thing in any future strategy is to strengthen our steadfastness on the ground.

The government is currently working on implementing the plans I mentioned earlier, with the aim of getting out of this crisis. Our steadfastness means our ability to provide a decent life for our people, and provide them with basic services, which contributes to people’s attachment to their land and their refusal to leave it.

Israel is trying by all means to displace as many Palestinians as it can, but we are working to provide opportunities for our youth to remain in their homeland and contribute to building the institutions of the Palestinian state. Our success or failure in this government depends on our ability to strengthen the presence of our youth in their homeland.

Big challenges and promising plans

* In light of these escalating challenges, how do you see the future of development in Palestine, and what is your strategy for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals under these conditions?

- First, we developed the “Build Palestine” plan, along with the Economic Development and Recovery Plan, and the Institutional Development and Reform Programs Plan, all of which are interconnected and provide us with a comprehensive vision for the future. The most important thing in ensuring this future is the youth, who are the future pillar of our society.

Today we live in the shadow of the Israeli war, but I believe that if the plans I spoke about are implemented, we will witness a dramatic transformation in the Palestinian economy. However, there are major challenges, such as the continuation of the war and extremist Israeli policies, which put us in serious difficulties.

But our plan must be clear, and our path defined, in order to move forward in implementing our goals. We hope that we will be able to overcome these obstacles, and that the future will be better, which is what we all aspire to.