It is rightly said that politics and economy are interrelated. The point was well orchestrated as the World Bank made an interesting observation on the health of Palestinian economy, illustrating that mere aid and donations cannot keep it afloat.

It goes without saying that the Palestinian Authority’s so-called state institutions are a unique experiment and have been working in a state of Utopia. Without formal sovereignty at its disposal, the landlocked entity had been struggling to make both ends meet, and the backseat that politics had taken in the West Bank and Gaza are a case in point. The donor bank believes that until and unless the Palestinian Authority soars up trade and private sector, the economy is unsustainable, and the succour may end up in doldrums. As far theory and academics are concerned, that may be right. But the point is without the decorum and legitimacy of statehood; whatever the dispensation in occupied territories is doing is nothing less than running a private company. Even private entrepreneurs enjoy the legitimacy of operating for and from a definite state, and duly benefit from its socio-political policies.

This debate and concern of the World Bank should be seized as an opportunity by the comity of nations to reflect back on the plight of the dispossessed nation. It’s time Palestine is granted its due statehood status, and is recognised as a full member of the United Nations. Whatever mess the region is facing in the form of volatility and chaos inadvertently flows out of the Palestinian imbroglio. Denial of fundamental rights to a nation for more than six decades, despite being canvassed by the world at large, is an insult to the values of rule of law and decency.

The progress that the Palestinian Authority has made in government services and buoying its institutions is no less than a treat to the articulateness of its people and leadership. It has graduated from a guerilla organisation to an entity of highest order in socio-politics. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad who handles an economy with debts to the tune of $ 1.5 billion has made enough inroads in blessing his administration the serenity of authorisation and effectiveness. The World Bank acknowledges the fact that growth has occurred in government services, real estate and several non-tradable sectors. One hopes the proposed two-state solution, which has been lingering for long, can come to the rescue of million of Palestinians and the region, alike. This riddle is in need of being resolved, earnestly.