RamallahIn addition to the heavy human losses, which exceeded 722 martyrs, about 6,200 wounded, and 11,000 arrests, the West Bank suffered huge economic losses as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023.
The losses come as official data indicate that Israel continues to deduct Palestinian funds from the “clearance”, which represents 65% of the Palestinian Authority’s revenues, until the value of the Israeli deductions exceeded 7.26 billion shekels (about 1.86 billion dollars) since 2019.
The “clearance” is the tax money that Israel collects at the ports it controls, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, on goods imported into the Palestinian territories in exchange for a fee of 3%, in accordance with the Oslo Accords.
GDP decline
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Economy in Ramallah obtained by Tel Aviv Tribune Net:
- The West Bank economy lost about 30% of its production capacity
- The Palestinian economy in general lost approximately 80% of its production capacity.
- The Ministry estimates the daily loss as a result of Israeli practices at approximately $20 million in the production portion only.
At the end of last September, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics indicated a sharp decline in the gross domestic product in Palestine by 32%, in light of the sharp contraction in the gross domestic product in the Gaza Strip during the second quarter of 2024 by 86% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2023, with A decline in the West Bank economy by 22%.
The agency stated that all economic activities in the West Bank recorded a sharp decline in value added:
- Mining, manufacturing, water and electricity activity recorded a decline of 27%.
- Construction activity recorded a decline of 41%.
- Agriculture and forestry activity declined by 11%.
- Wholesale and retail trade and repair of vehicles and motorcycles activity decreased by 18%.
- The value of the gross domestic product during the second quarter of 2024 in the West Bank amounted to $2.6 billion, and in the Gaza Strip it was only $91 million.
According to data from the Ministry of Economy, the per capita GDP in Palestine decreased:
- In the second quarter of 2024, the per capita GDP in Palestine decreased to $512, recording a 33% decrease compared to the second quarter of 2023.
- The per capita GDP in the West Bank alone declined by 24% compared to the corresponding quarter.
- In the Gaza Strip, the per capita GDP decreased by 86% compared to the corresponding quarter.
Employment and unemployment
In terms of employment, the Palestinian economy lost about 306,000 job opportunities in the West Bank, as a result of the closure of the labor market within the Green Line, while 42% of Palestinian private sector establishments reduced the number of workers in them.
Official data confirm that unemployment rates in the West Bank have risen significantly, reaching about 35% during the first quarter of this year, compared to 12.8% before the aggression.
According to data from the General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions – seen by Tel Aviv Tribune Net – about 185,000 workers who were working in the construction, agriculture, industry, and service sectors in Israel until October 7, 2023 lost their jobs, which means a monthly loss to the Palestinian economy of about one and a quarter billion shekels. (About $330 million).
Israel completely closed the crossings linking it to the Gaza Strip and occupied the Rafah crossing, which connects the Strip to Egypt, while the crossings linking it with the West Bank were closed to workers despite their possession of work permits.
Demolition of homes and infrastructure
Reports from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicate that the occupation authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced their owners to demolish 1,725 Palestinian facilities in various areas of the West Bank, in addition to damaging about 1,900 housing units during the period from October 7, 2023. Until September 23, 2024.
The demolitions include more than 770 inhabited facilities, more than 365 agricultural facilities, more than 120 water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and 250 facilities used by their owners to secure their livelihoods (shops).
According to the Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the occupation has inflicted heavy losses on the West Bank’s infrastructure, especially its northern governorates, noting the destruction of 70% of the road network in Jenin, meaning about 20 kilometers of roads, and all the service networks that lie beneath them, causing direct losses. It exceeded 100 million Israeli shekels ($28 million), in addition to the disruption of production and the complete cessation of economic activity.
As for the city of Tulkarm, and its camps in particular, it suffered unprecedented destruction and damage estimated at about 125 million shekels ($35 million), including the bulldozing of more than 2.6 kilometers of water and sewage networks in the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps.
Foreign trade and banking
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the volume of Palestine’s foreign trade declined in the first 7 months of 2024 by about 26.3% on an annual basis, as the volume of Palestinian foreign trade as a whole (exports and imports together) reached $4.5 billion by the end of July, compared to $5.7 billion. For the same period in 2023.
While a survey prepared by Al-Iqtisadi website (non-governmental) showed a sharp decline in the profits of 7 Palestinian banks listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange by 89% on an annual basis during the first half of 2024.
The total profits of these banks amounted to $9.44 million during the first 6 months of this year, compared to $84 million during the same period last year.
Tourism losses
According to a statement by the Statistics Authority in late September:
- The number of hotel guests in the West Bank during the first half of 2024 witnessed a sharp decline of 84.2% compared to the same period of the previous year.
- While the number of hotel guests in the West Bank reached 60,000 guests, who spent about 140,000 overnight stays.
- Data for the same period also indicate a 39% decline in the movement of local visitors to tourist sites in the West Bank, compared to the same period in 2023.
- The number of workers in the tourism sector decreased during the first quarter of the year 2024 in the West Bank by 39.7%, as their number reached 24 thousand, and this constitutes 3.8% of the total workers in the West Bank during the first quarter of the year 2024.
- The Israeli aggression also caused 15,265 tourism workers to lose their jobs, the majority of whom work in restaurant activities.
