Palestine civil society is squeezed between all kinds of dichotomies: Israeli occupation and the lack of a truly Palestinian State; Fatah and Hamas; trust and resignation..

Despite the good wills and a vibrant non profit sector, the dialogue between organizations and Palestinian Authority Institutions is almost non existent. Moreover, the limited amount of financial resources and the difficulties related to the daily life represent a strong impediment to cross fertilization activities between organizations themselves. Instead of cooperation, concurrence; instead of synergies, a chemical fractionation.

The lack of dialogue with decision makers and the legislative bodies also makes difficult any kind of political lobby activity. While advocacy activities are on the top of the agendas of CSOs, their concrete follow up through the promotion of political instances is quite limited. This generates a strong frustration among community based organizations and decrease their credibility towards citizens. Being less attractive, the participation is declining and the impact of social campaigns is compressed among limited societal layers.

tags: mednet , Palestine