The latest report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) tells
the Palestinian tragedy from the point of view of work, outlining theunprecedented devastation that a year of war has caused in terms of
employment, availability of means of subsistence and overall economic
development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In a situation
where international aid is blocked at the crossings, Gaza has virtually
no economy and 80% of the population is unemployed but lives by their
wits. While unemployment in the West Bank has also jumped to 35% and we
are faced with the economic strangulation of the population.
A year of war in Gaza has caused unprecedented and far-reaching
devastation: the destruction of the territory has obviously weighed on
the labor market and the economy in general throughout the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. According to the ILO report, One year of
war in Gaza, the impact on jobs and livelihoods in the country is
particularly worrying. The unemployment rate in Gaza and the West Bank,
the two areas that make up the occupied Palestinian territory, has risen
to an average of 51.1% over the past twelve months, according to data
from the fifth and latest in a series of bulletins by the ILO and
the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS - West Bank and Gaza
Strip).
In the West Bank, the unemployment rate averaged 34.9% between the
beginning of October 2023 and the end of September 2024, while in Gaza
it reached a shocking average of 79.7%.
The economic cost of the war has also been considerable, with real GDP
in the occupied Palestinian territory falling by an average of 32.2%
over the past year.
This contraction in real GDP is unprecedented in the recent history of
the occupied Palestinian territory. Even during the most severe economic
downturn, during the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli
occupation in 2001, real GDP fell by 14.9%, less than half the size of
the current decline, the bulletin said.
"The impact of the war in the Gaza Strip has taken a toll that goes
beyond the loss of life, dire humanitarian conditions and physical
destruction," said Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States.
"It has fundamentally changed the socio-economic landscape of Gaza,
severely impacting the West Bank economy and labour market. The impact
will be felt for generations."
The West Bank contracted by 21.7 percent compared to the previous 12
months, while the Gaza Strip's GDP fell by 84.7 percent.
As the war enters its second year, economic tensions in the occupied
Palestinian territories continue to rise, the bulletin noted, leading to
an even more dramatic increase in hardship.
In the Gaza Strip, nearly 100 percent of the population lives in
poverty, as families struggle to meet their basic needs. Meanwhile, the
significant economic contraction in the West Bank is estimated to have
more than doubled the poverty rate in the short term, from 12% in 2023
to 28% in mid-2024.
The data published in the bulletin reflects the paralysis of most
economic activity in Gaza due to the destruction of homes and
infrastructure and the recurring displacement of workers and employers.
This has led to either a complete cessation of work or the predominance
of informal and irregular work, mainly focused on the provision of
essential goods and services.
In the West Bank, Israeli barriers to the movement of people and goods,
combined with broader trade restrictions and supply chain disruptions,
have severely affected the economy.
The closure of the Israeli labor market to Palestinian workers has made
earning a living even more difficult.
The desperate humanitarian conditions and the current physical
destruction do not give hope for an improvement in the near
future.
From PuntoCritico.info Newsletter, November 7, 2024.
Elena Rusca, journalist, deals with economics and human rights. She is
the correspondent of the progressive periodical «El Clarìn de Chile» at
the United Nations. We thank her for allowing us to publish her article.
http://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/
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