GENEVA (AP) — The Palestinian economy is “in free fall,” the United Nations said Thursday, with production in Gaza falling to one-sixth of what it was before Israeli forces launched a devastating military response. October 7 attacks on the territory.
The UN Trade and Development report also warned of a “rapid and alarming economic downturn” in the West Bank, citing extensive Israeli settlementsconfiscation of land, demolition of Palestinian buildings and violence by settlers.
The report makes no mention of corruption in Palestinian institutions,
“The Palestinian economy is in free fall,” Pedro Manuel Moreno, the agency’s deputy secretary-general, told reporters in Geneva. “The report calls on the international community to halt this economic free fall, address the humanitarian crisis and lay the foundations for lasting peace and development.”
That would include a “comprehensive recovery plan” for the Palestinian territories, more international aid, the lifting of Israeli blockade of Gazaand the release of income and withheld funds for Palestinians held by Israel, he said.
As violence continues, there are few signs that a recovery plan will be launched anytime soon.
Mutasim Elagraa, who coordinates the agency’s aid to the Palestinians, said: “If we want to return Gaza to the situation before October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
The ultimate goal is “to put Gaza on the path of sustainable development,” which will take more time and money, he said.
Gaza’s economic output fell in the half-year, including the last quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 (the last quarter for which figures are available), to just over $221 million, or about 16% of the total figure for the same half-year period in 2022 and 2023, when it totaled just over $1.34 billion, the agency said.
Meanwhile, more than 300,000 jobs have been lost in the West Bank, home to some 3 million Palestinians, pushing unemployment to 32% from less than 13% before the conflict, the agency reported.
By early this year, as much as 96% of Gaza’s agricultural assets, including livestock farms, orchards, machinery and storage facilities, had been “decimated,” the agency, also known as UNCTAD, said.
More than 80% of businesses were damaged or destroyed and the damage is getting worse, the report said.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded another 95,029, the territory’s health ministry said. The ministry’s tally does not distinguish between civilians and militants.
Israel began its campaign with a pledge to destroy the Palestinian group Hamas after the October 7 attack in southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.
