The current Strategy for the Occupied Palestinian Territory was elaborated through a process that comprised a series of workshops with the participation of all stakeholders, including relevant Swiss institutions, Palestinian officials and civil society organisations, like-minded donors, and representatives of the UN family in the OPT. The new strategy took into consideration also Palestinian development priorities as set out in the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) which was developed and approved by the Palestinian Authority.

The Cooperation Strategy 2006-2010 is guided by four main principles:

1- From crisis management to peace-building;
2- From emergency support to sustainable development;
3- A commitment to state building; and
4- Aid harmonization.

These overriding principles are intertwined. The programme is based on a contiguum approach, taking into account the objectives and activities of the Humanitarian Department of SDC and of the Political Divisions of EDA (e.g. the Geneva Initiative, the Jerusalem Foundation School, elections). The cooperation modalities between SDC and other Swiss stakeholders are in place. Considering the Palestinian context, good governance is at the chief topic of this CS and is a cross-cutting issue. Gender is a transversal theme of every SDC programme and is strictly observed in all aspects regarding programmes, activities, selection of partners and staffing.

Objective I: Enhance prospects for peace

      Purposes:
Respect of Human rights improved; Population knows its rights and duties; Civil society organizations provide legal aid, raise awareness on human, economic, social and cultural rights and promote a culture of peace and tolerance among the local community; and
Networking and capacity building with focus on youth and women; SDC works with organizations having programmatic approaches and integrity of management.

Objective II: Improve living conditions

      Purposes:
Psycho-social wellbeing of vulnerable population is promoted by enabling Palestinians to have access to existing qualified basic services;
Sustainable employment generation and opportunities are improved and are open to community members; and
Humanitarian and technical assistance will be pursued in parallel for the most vulnerable groups of the Palestinian community, in order to respond to probable deterioration of living conditions of both the refugees and the Palestinian population.

Objective III: Promote viable and sustainable institutions

     Purposes:
SDC is engaged with like-minded donors and local partners in capacity development of Palestinian stakeholders, working closely with other donors within consortia. Setting up minimum standards of performance and minimal reporting schemes will ensure that our partners are working in complementarities and are responsible of the implementation of their programs.