The economic crisis in the occupied West Bank has been exacerbated by Israeli-ordered shutdowns, intensified military actions, and settler attacks. These developments have collectively created a grim economic landscape for Palestinians residing in the region. These challenges have reached every corner of daily life, resulting in many hardships.
The closure of major checkpoints has severely hampered mobility and the flow of goods, disrupting the transportation of produce, a key element of the local economy. Sales have dwindled significantly, with many businesses experiencing a 50% reduction in revenue. The disruptions in transportation have not only made it more expensive to conduct business, due to rising fuel costs and longer delivery times, but have also left many shelves empty, causing supplies of essential items like vegetable oil, rice, flour, and sugar to run low.
The West Bank's economic challenges are not new, as it has endured a 56-year-long occupation and persistent restrictions on movement. The United Nations has estimated that the Israeli occupation cost the Palestinian economy a staggering $47.7 billion in fiscal revenues between 2000 and 2017. These longstanding issues were already impacting the economy before the recent events, and they have been further intensified by the current crisis.
In addition, the recent turmoil has led to joblessness for the majority of the 200,000 Palestinian laborers who work in Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This has led to a significant drop in revenues, as the laborers are unable to contribute to the local economy as they did before.
The Palestinian Authority is particularly concerned about the scarcity of basic items, further exacerbating the economic crisis. The situation is expected to have long-term negative effects on the Palestinian economy, with the repercussions expected to linger, including rising prices for essential goods.
However, amidst these economic hardships, many Palestinians in the West Bank acknowledge that their situation, while dire, is relatively better than that of their counterparts in the besieged Gaza Strip. Despite the challenges they face, they still have access to food and water, and their children are safe and playing around them. This perspective underscores the resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of adversity, as they strive to cope with and overcome the economic challenges they confront in the occupied West Bank.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/29/there-is-zero-work-occupied-west-bank-paralysed-as-economy-stalls
Since essential items are going scarce are some people in Palestine beginning to hoard those items while everyone else is left to suffer? Due to many people losing there jobs the amount of money available to spend has decreased significantly which is showing since their economy is doing really bad. Would it be beneficial for the Palestinian government to inject money into the economy to help get themselves back on their feet? This could also lead to more work becoming available if businesses use money to hire workers.
ReplyDeleteThe crisis in the occupied West Bank, worsened by Israeli-imposed closures, increased military actions, and settler attacks, is causing significant hardships for Palestinians, as you said. Do you think this calls for international involvement to ease their economic crisis?
ReplyDelete