Economics

On average, an Israeli earns $30,000 a year whereas the average Palestinian earns a tenth of this, less than $3,000. 23.6% of Israelis live below the poverty line compared with 46% in the West Bank and 80% in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestine Monetary Authority, the economic situation in Palestine in 2019 is worse than ever following the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars of United States aid. The ever growing financial pressures on Palestine have sent debt in excess of $3bn.

Unemployment is at an all time high and in the West Bank it stands at 15.2%. The official jobless count in Gaza is 39.3%

The lack of progress towards peace and reconciliation creates an unsustainable economic situation. Due to a steep deterioration in Gaza and a slowdown in the West Bank, the Palestinian economy witnessed no real growth last year (2018). With the unemployment rate at 31 percent (Gaza and West bank) in 2018— and with 52 percent of Gaza’s labor force unemployed, including two out of every three youth, the situation is impossible for families trying to survive.

The Palestinian Authority’s financing gap persisted in 2018 mainly due to insufficient budget support and was financed through additional arrears.

Sabeel-Kairos is the operating name of Friends of Sabeel UK (FOSUK) Ltd, Charity number 1116817, Company Number 5595112

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