CRC/C/ISR/CO/2-4 children of its budgetary decisions and on the specific budgetary allocations for the provision of critical social services to children, including those in the most vulnerable situations. The Committee is also concerned that the average spending per child in the Arab localities is estimated to be more than a third lower than in Jewish localities and that the State party fails to take into account the unequal level of resources provided to the two health systems to explain the persistent disparities in relation to health indicators between the Arab and Jewish children. 14. The Committee urges the State party to: (a) Utilize a child-rights approach in the elaboration of the State budget by implementing a tracking system for the allocation and the use of resources for children throughout the budget, thus providing visibility to the investment on children and allowing impact assessments on how investments in any sector may serve to fulfil children’s rights; (b) Ensure transparent and participatory budgeting through public dialogue, especially with children and for proper accountability by local authorities; (c) Ensure that budgetary allocations, including budgetary allocation for the health sector, no longer discriminate against Arab Israeli families and their children, and define strategic budgetary lines for children in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations, in particular Bedouin, Palestinian, Arab Israeli children, as well as children of migrant workers and asylum seekers. Independent monitoring 15. While acknowledging the role of the State Comptroller, the Committee expresses concern that limited progress has been made by the State party since its previous recommendation (CRC/C/15/Add.195, para. 17) to establish an independent mechanism with the mandate to regularly monitor and evaluate progress under the Convention as recommended by the Rotlevy and Peretz committees. 16. The Committee draws attention to its general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent national human rights institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child and recommends that the State party accelerate the process for the establishment of an Ombudsperson for children in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles) to monitor and evaluate progress in the implementation of the Convention at the national and local levels and to deal with complaints from children in a child-sensitive and expeditious manner. Cooperation with civil society 17. The Committee regrets that limited information was provided on the involvement of civil society in the elaboration of the State party’s report and that non-governmental organizations are not systematically involved in planning policies and laws for children as acknowledged by the State party in its report. The Committee also expresses concern that Palestinian non-governmental organizations and international human rights organizations working in the OPT are increasingly perceived as a threat to national security and are subject to, among others, harassment, arrest and denial of work permits. It is further concerned about the denial of work permits to foreign nationals working for humanitarian organizations in the OPT and about the tightened control of foreign funding of nongovernmental organizations when they cooperate with United Nations fact-finding missions. 18. The Committee urges the State party to systematically involve communities as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and children’s organizations, in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, 4