ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Bethlehem Celebrates Merriest Christmas in Years:  As tens of thousands of tourists visit Bethlehem for the holiday festivities, Palestinian officials are reporting the largest turnout since 2000.  USAID’s Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion program (EDIP), in partnership with the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, has implemented an integrated marketing campaign inviting visitors, tourists and pilgrims to travel to Bethlehem for the Christmas festivities.  EDIP has also supported a transportation initiative linking Arab Israelis in the Galilee with Bethlehem during the holiday season.

HEALTH AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

• Food Assistance to Vulnerable Palestinians:  The UN World Food Program (WFP), along with its implementing partners CRS and CHF, finished a new round of food distribution under the “Assistance to Vulnerable Groups” program, during which 6,000 metric tons of food were distributed to 150,000 beneficiaries in Gaza and to 110,810 beneficiaries in the West Bank.

WATER RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• New Classrooms Provide Improved Learning Facilities:  USAID’s Emergency Jobs Program (EJP) completed the construction of a new floor with five classrooms in the boys’ school in Immatin village in the Qalqilia Governorate north of the West Bank.  The new classrooms ease overcrowding, relieve the need to rent outside classrooms and provide suitable learning facilities.  The project benefits 380 people, most of them students, and created five permanent jobs.

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

• Public Learns More About Income Tax: USAID’s Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement project helped the income tax department launch a comprehensive information campaign aimed at improving public awareness of income tax and its importance in order to increase voluntary tax payment.  The campaign uses radio and newspaper advertisements that include characters from the Benhebek ya Baladna cartoon series.  Brochures and tax payment schedules will also be distributed to the public as part of the campaign.