World Bank Blames Israel, Egypt for Lack of PA-Gaza Economic Growth
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – World Bank has warned in a report released on Tuesday that Palestinians are getting poorer for a third year in a row as a result of the crippling military blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.
The World Bank has warned of the "high risk" of renewed Palestine-Israel conflict following the third straight year of increasing poverty in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In a report released Tuesday, the World Bank pointed to war, reduced donor aid, the suspension of revenue payments, and ongoing restrictions by Israel as having had "a severe impact on the Palestinian economy."
"The persistence of this situation could potentially lead to political and social unrest," the report said.
"In short, the status quo is not sustainable and downside risks of further conflict and social unrest are high," said the World Bank.
The percentage of the population living under the poverty line has reached 39 percent in Gaza and 16 percent in the West Bank.
It said the "Palestinians are getting poorer on average for the third year in a row. Donor support has significantly declined in recent years," especially for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, Ma'an News Agency reported.
Unemployment "remains high, particularly amongst Gaza's youth where it exceeds 60 percent, and 25 percent of Palestinians currently live in poverty," the World Bank said.
The report also highlighted the stagnation of reconstruction in Gaza, which it said has seen less than 7 percent of the total construction material required enter its borders.
Only a third of donor aid pledged to Gaza has been dispersed, the report said, amounting to $881 million less than was promised.
World Bank has called on Israel and Egypt to lift the military blockade on Gaza in place since 2008, but in a way that protects their "legitimate security concerns."
The report also adds that the amount of goods currently allowed to leave Gaza by Israelis is only six percent of what left the tiny enclave prior to the blockade.
The World Bank made its warning amid renewed clashes in and around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which on Monday saw at least 22 Palestinians injured.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that Israeli actions at the holy site could spark an intifada, or uprising.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research recently found in a survey that 57 percent of Palestinians support a return to an armed intifada in the absence of peace negotiations, up from 49 percent three months ago.
The poll organizers said the figure was similar to numbers seen ahead of the Second Intifada that began in 2000.
