PALESTINIANS are learning that independence has a price: They have to start paying their utility bills. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is cracking down on scofflaws as part of his effort to bring law and order to the West Bank after years of conflict with Israel, and to reassure donor countries that they are not subsidizing deadbeats with their billions of dollars of aid. West Bankers who haven't paid a bill in seven years or more are being told that until they settle up they can't do simple things like renew a driver's license. The result has been court challenges and a storm of protest. Shadi Ashaibi, a trucker, is in a bind. He needs to renew his driver's license, but first has to pay the city of Nablus about 11,000 shekels (about $3,000) in bills. He says he can't pay, because without a driver's license he can't get work. The civil servants' union staged a two-day warning strike and went to court, arguing it's illegal to link unpaid bills to government services. The Palestinian Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction against the practice, giving Fayyad's government two weeks to explain the policy. However, Fayyad, a US-educated economist, is unmoved, saying it's time the West Bank's 2 million Palestinians learned a little discipline. “This is an important step on the way to strengthening our standing as a government, and will strengthen our self-reliance,” he said recently. “It's also an important element of building a state.” Fayyad's government hopes to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says a Palestinian state is in Israel's interests, though he wants to retain some of the areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians. The Bush administration supports statehood. Many Palestinians started falling behind in their bill payments after the outbreak of the uprising against Israeli occupation in 2000. The fighting, accompanied by Israeli movement restrictions, sharply increased unemployment, now running at 19 percent, according the Palestinian statistics bureau. The Palestinian Authority didn't have the heart to cut off service to a population in crisis, and in recent years has been covering the arrears at a cost of about $500 million a year. But Fayyad has the Europeans' tacit backing for his plan. “It doesn't make sense to keep speaking about reform while a quarter of the budget each year goes to paying electricity and water bills,” he explained. “Subsidizing those who don't deserve it is a waste of the public's money.” His program does not cover the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the rival Hamas movement. Sociologist George Giacaman said it can only work if the Palestinian economy improves, otherwise “we will witness more resistance” to the plan. Despite the grumbling from consumers, Fayyad said the crackdown has netted $10 million since it was launched in February. In Beita, a village near Nablus, almost 10 percent of the debt has been settled, said Wasef Maaleh, the former mayor. In Ramallah, about 300 people visit the office of the main electricity company every day to pay up. “This decision will teach people the concept of paying,” said branch manager Ziad Jweiles. “Through the years of the uprising, we've been easy on people.” But Abdel Rasoul Khatab, 34, who lives in a village near Ramallah, said there was no way he would be able to pay. “Bread comes first,” he said. “People don't have enough money to eat. They reduce our salaries, and now they are ordering us to pay water and electricity?” Some have found ways of getting around the bill collectors. Ahmed Abu Kheir, 50, from the village of Deir Balout, said he agrees in principle with Fayyad's approach but can't afford to clear his debt of nearly $2,000. That meant he couldn't register his new car, so he has put it in his 17-year-old son's name. - AP __
