History of JICA’s Development Assistance to Palestine—Jericho Agro-Industrial Park—

Abstract

In pursuit of a “two-state solution” whereby Israel and an independent Palestinian state coexist and prosper, the international community has been extending humanitarian and development assistance to Palestine for the last three decades since the Oslo Accords of September 1993. However, peace negotiations stalled in April 2014 and since then there has been no positive sign to resume them. The current humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by the incident in October 2023 is posing an immense challenge and threat to the peace process. Under this uncertain circumstance, it is difficult to foresee how the crisis could be settled and the peace process revived. This article overviews the history of development assistance by the Government of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to Palestine, with a focus on their long-term engagement in Jericho Agro-Industrial Park (JAIP), and also aims to discuss trust and confidence building in the Palestinian context.

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Notes on contributors

Abe Toshiya

Abe Toshiya is the Director General of the Evaluation Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since April 2023. Prior to this appointment, Abe was the Resident Representative of JICA Palestine Office (2019-2023) and Resident Representative of the JICA Balkan Office, which covers six countries in the region including Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro (2013-2017). Abe was seconded to UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) HQ as the Senior Development Officer for partnership programmes between humanitarian and development actors (2007-2010). Abe also served as the Assistant Resident Representative, JICA Palestine Office (1998-2001) and the program officer for Middle Eastern countries including Palestine and Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, as well as Central Asian countries since 1993. Abe earned a Master’s Degree in International Relations and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Waseda University, Japan.