Palestinian Economy in ‘Free Fall,’ Needs Billions to Repair: UN

The Palestinian economy is currently in “free fall” and will need billions of dollars to repair, the United Nations said this week.
On Thursday, Pedro Manuel Moreno, the deputy secretary-general of U.N. Trade and Development (UNCTAD), spoke to reporters in Geneva about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, as well as about how the Palestinian economy is being affected.
UNCTAD released a report this week saying that there is “rapid and alarming economic decline” throughout the West Bank, amid the ongoing war.
“The Palestinian economy is in free fall,” Moreno said. “The report calls for the international community to halt this economic free fall, address the humanitarian crisis and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development.”
Moreno noted that for the Palestinian economy to recover, it will need a “comprehensive recovery plan,” which includes the lifting of Israel’s blockade in Gaza and the release of hostages in the ongoing war. The report did not address any possible corruption within Palestinian institutions.
Mutasim Elagraa, the coordinator of UNCTAD’s assistance for Palestinians said, “If we want to return Gaza to pre-October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
Elagraa also noted that the goal is “to put Gaza on a path of sustainable development.”
Gaza’s economic output plummeted to just over $221 million during the six-month period spanning the final quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest available data. This represents only 16 percent of the output recorded during the same timeframe in 2022-2023, when the total surpassed $1.34 billion, the agency reported.
In the West Bank, home to around 3 million Palestinians, over 300,000 jobs have been lost, pushing unemployment rates to 32 percent, a sharp rise from the pre-conflict level of under 13 percent, according to the agency.
By early 2024, up to 96 percent of Gaza’s agricultural assets—ranging from livestock farms and orchards to machinery and storage facilities—had been “decimated,” according to UNCTAD.
UNCTAD also said that during the war, more than 80 percent of Palestinian businesses were either damaged or destroyed.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has resulted in at least 41,084 Palestinian deaths and 95,029 injuries, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and militants.
Israel launched its military campaign with the stated goal of dismantling Hamas following the militant group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, where militants killed approximately 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.