Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements

Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements

This report stresses that the deep economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza threatens to impoverish and alienate a generation of young Palestinians. Moreover, today's economic crisis has been caused by restrictions on the movement of Palestin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	World Bank
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:	AIR SERVICES AIR TRANSPORT AUTHORITY BASIC BORDER CROSSINGS BULK CARGO CARGO CARGO HANDLING CITIZENS CIVIL WORKS CONSTRUCTION CONTAINER SCANNING CONTAINERS CORRUPTION ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC IMPACT ECONOMISTS EXPORT GATEWAYS GOVERNANCE REFORMS HUMAN RIGHTS IMPORTS INCOME INFORMATION SYSTEMS INSPECTION INSPECTION REGIME INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKETS NATIONAL INCOME NATIONAL SECURITY NATURAL RESOURCES NORMALIZATION PASSENGER PERFORMANCE MEASURES PILOTS POLICY ENVIRONMENT POLICY MAKERS POLITICAL INSTABILITY POVERTY LINE PRIME MINISTER RAILWAY NETWORK RANGE REFERENCE RESTORATION RESTRICTIONS RISK MANAGEMENT ROAD TRANSPORT ROLL ROLL-OFF ROUTE ROUTES SCANNERS SCANNING SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS SECURITY CONTROL SECURITY EQUIPMENT SECURITY GROUNDS SECURITY INCIDENTS SECURITY INSPECTIONS SECURITY POLICIES SECURITY RISK TERMINAL TERMINALS TERRORISM TRAFFIC TRANSACTION COSTS TRANSPARENCY TRANSPORT OPERATORS TUNNEL UNEMPLOYMENT WEST BANK AND GAZA
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/06/8011554/disengagement-palestinian-economy-settlements http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23983

Description
Summary:	This report stresses that the deep economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza threatens to impoverish and alienate a generation of young Palestinians. Moreover, today's economic crisis has been caused by restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods, or 'closures', which the Government of Israel (GOI) regards as essential to protecting Israeli citizens from attacks by militants. Without a major reform of the closure regime, however, the Palestinian economy will not revive and Israel's security gains may not be sustainable. The report adds that Israel's Disengagement Plan of June 6 will have very little impact on the Palestinian economy and Palestinian livelihoods, since it only proposes a limited easing of closure. An easing of closures alone, though, will not attract investors back to the Palestinian economy. The review opines that with a freeing-up of the constraints on economic activity and committed Palestinian reform, an additional major donor effort would make a difference - it would enable the Palestinian economy to turn the corner. However, the alternative to this is stark. At the wrong end of the spectrum of possible outcomes is a Palestinian economy with unemployment levels of over 35 percent by 2006, and with poverty afflicting upwards of 55 and 70 percent in Gaza. The study points out that as for the settlement assets that Israel will leave behind, those in Gaza have considerable economic value, and in time can make a significant contribution - provided that Gaza's borders are opened for trade. Prospects for economic recovery will be enhanced if the US and the EU give adequate preference to Palestinian products to help boost exports.