Palestine’s GDP shrinks 28 pc, unemployment up to 51 pc in 2024
Ramallah: Palestine’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 28 per cent and its unemployment rate increased to 51 per cent in 2024, the Ramallah-based Ministry of Economy said in a statement.
“The Palestinian economy is facing an unprecedented shock due to the Israeli war on Gaza and the deduction of tax funds, which has significantly impacted the GDP,” it said.
Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority for imports into Palestinian territories and transfers the funds on a monthly basis, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trade exchanges between Palestine and the outside world fell 11 per cent year-on-year in 2024, the ministry added.
Amidst repeated Israeli military incursions, the systematic destruction of infrastructure, restrictions on the movement of people and goods, and the closure of all crossings with Gaza, among others, Gaza has witnessed the collapse of all economic activities, whereas the West Bank has also seen a sharp decline in economic activities, it noted.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostages.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,854, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, more than 820 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire and bombings across the West Bank since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Earlier the UN agency for Palestine refugees warned that its operation could be crippled as an impending Israeli ban on it is expected to take effect by the end of January.
In a brief statement, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Saturday said, “Time is running out for a possible ban on the agency that would prevent it from providing services to millions of Palestinian refugees.”
The statement added that the United Nations “does not plan to replace the agency, and the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, must reverse its decision to ban it.”