The Palestinian economy is on the verge of collapse, a newly-released report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development claims, pointing at Israeli activities, mass unemployment and environmental degradation among other factors driving the ongoing crisis.
The report states that the GDP growth rates in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which are lagging behind the population growth rates in those areas, indicates a slump in per capita income.
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The UNCTAD report cites rampant unemployment, which predominantly affects women and youth, and lasting environmental degradation as major plights plaguing the Palestinian population.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is also noted as a key cause behind many of the problems, from military operations leaving the lands ravaged to Gaza farmers who are denied access to 35% of the coastal enclave's fertile lands. The latter relates to the land swathes adjacent to the security fence that Israel views as a buffer zone.
The report also highlights decreasing foreign investment in Gaza and the West Bank due to "bleak political horizons," a 6% drop in donor support between 2017 and 2018, and oil and gas deposits near Gaza's coastline and in the West Bank as a source of revenue that remains unexplored because of the conflict with Israel.
'We feel that we are living in a crime zone — our economy has been raped for the last 52 years while the #US stood at the door watching — we are not interested in beautifying the cages that #Israel has created for us,' says Palestinian-American businessman @SamBahour pic.twitter.com/czUcnvvoWX
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 26, 2019
The Palestinian people, according to the report, "are isolated from international markets" and are thus compelled "into overwhelming trade and economic dependence on Israel, which accounts for 80% of Palestinian exports and supplies 58% of its imports."
As a consequence of all these factors, the report asserts, "the estimated accumulated losses are worth billions of dollars and the associated opportunity cost of forgone development is staggering."
The report also accuses Israel of "using the West Bank as a 'sacrifice zone' to which it transfers hazardous waste produced inside Israel, thus threatening the health of the Palestinian people and the integrity of their environment and natural resources."
UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi called on the international community to "do more to promote responsible and sustainable industrial practices" there, and to protect the public health of the Palestinian people."
Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS.
