Published October 25,2023
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While the present disaster has worsened circumstances within the Gaza Strip, a decades-long blockade had already devastated the besieged enclave’s financial system, leaving 80% of the inhabitants depending on worldwide help, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) mentioned on Wednesday.
UNCTAD’s newest report confirmed that 2022 was one other “bad year” for Palestinians as financial system of the occupied Palestinian territory remained under its 2019 pre-pandemic stage.
“Against a backdrop of heightened political tensions, deepening dependency on the occupying power and a stalled peace process, the Palestinian economy continued to operate below potential in 2022 as other persistent challenges intensified,” it mentioned.
“These include loss of land and natural resources to Israeli settlements, endemic poverty, a shrinking fiscal space, declining foreign aid and the build-up of public and private debt.”
Although the Palestinian GDP grew 3.9% in 2022, UNCTAD mentioned, per capita actual GDP was nonetheless 8.6% under its 2019 pre-pandemic stage. In Gaza, actual GDP per capita was 11.7% under the 2019 stage – near its lowest stage since 1994.
Unemployment remained excessive at 24% throughout the occupied territory – 13% within the West Bank and 45% in Gaza.
Meanwhile, poverty elevated, rendering 40% of the inhabitants in want of humanitarian help.
“Three decades after the Oslo Accords, the hoped-for convergence between the Palestinian economy and Israel’s remains obstructed by occupation policies. Instead, the two economies have diverged, with the Palestinian per capita GDP currently standing at just 8% of Israel’s,” it underlined.
The report additionally highlighted the Palestinian financial system’s “forced dependency” on Israel.
Chronic commerce deficits and heavy reliance on Israel, which accounted for 72% of complete Palestinian commerce in 2022, as a consequence of extreme manufacturing and transaction prices and commerce boundaries with the remainder of the world, in accordance with the report.
“Over-reliance on precarious employment in Israel and settlements exposes the Palestinian economy to shocks in a volatile environment characterized by frequent crises, while lack of monetary and fiscal space leaves little room for effective policy response to shocks and crises,” the UN company warned.
Noting that the impression of the occupation on Palestine has been mitigated by donor help previously, the report burdened that the sharp decline in 2022-when the Palestinian authorities obtained solely $250 million in donor finances help and $300 million for development-contrasts with the $2 billion, or 27% of GDP obtained in 2008, which drops to lower than 3% of GDP in 2022.
The restrictions on the motion of individuals and items, destruction of productive belongings in frequent navy operations and the ban on the import of key applied sciences and inputs have hollowed out Gaza’s financial system, it mentioned.
Investment in 2022 decreased to 10.7% of Gaza’s GDP, or a mere 1.9% of the Palestinian GDP. From 2006 to 2022, Gaza’s actual GDP per capita declined by 27%, and its share within the Palestinian financial system shrank from 31% to 17.4%.
“The restrictions on movement also impede access to health and other essential services, as 80% of Gazans depend on international aid,” it mentioned. “Living in Gaza in 2022 meant confinement in one of the most densely populated spaces in the world, without electricity half the time, and without adequate access to clean water or a proper sewage system.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr