Introduction

After the previous examination of foreign aid delivery to institutions within the PA and the kind of structural imbalances the norms of delivery have created since the Oslo Accords (1993), the task now resides in the analysis of the impact of such phenomena within the CSOs, particularly to what extent has the post-Oslo aid agenda contributed to reconstructing the role Palestinian NGOs play as compared to the pre-Oslo era and how has the securitisation and politicisation of aid influenced the socio-economic advancement of both NGOs and aid beneficiaries? In this chapter, we are not looking at CSOs and NGOs as development actors, but rather investigating the aspects embedded in these questions will help us to understand two things: the kind of civil society that donors sought to empower and maintain in the Gaza Strip and whether this sector contributes to Gaza's development and humanitarian relief or rather to practicing further governmentality over its population. It will also help us understand how the sector's key stakeholders, both institutions and individuals, are influenced by the aid dynamics imposed by donors and the extent to which they play a role in deepening the impact of the securitised aid agenda.

The chapter is based on a dozen interviews with CSO workers and aid consultants, in addition to government and political parties representatives. Accordingly, the analysis of the relationship between CSOs and donors, on the one hand, and CSOs and the local society, on the other, is articulated in four sections.

The first section will provide a historical overview of the work of the CSOs in Palestine and more specifically in Gaza. It will discuss the political dynamics that impacted the work of this sector in three major periods: the First Intifada (prior to the establishment of the PA), the post-Oslo civil society and the Second Intifada onwards. The second section will examine the concept of ‘globalised elite’ introduced by Sari Hanafi and Linda Tabar (2002, 2004). Yet, it falls short of illustrating how this elite developed over time, of describing its current relationships with the governing authorities, donors and the society and how these relationships impacted the current structures of the civil society.