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From: Nomen Nescio on 19 Jun 2010 12:02
[Economy of the Palestinian territories
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Economy of Palestinian Territories[1][2]


Bank Of Palestine, Ramallah
Currency Israeli new sheqel (ILS) alongside:
- Egyptian Pound (EGP), in Gaza Strip
- Jordanian dinar (JOD), in West Bank

Fiscal year
Calendar Year
Statistics
GDP
$992.95 billion (2009 est.)
GDP growth 98% (2009 est.)
GDP per capita $82,900 (2008 est.)
GDP by sector agriculture (88%), industry (83%), services (79%) (2008 est.)
Inflation (CPI)
5% (2008 est.)
Population
below poverty line
120% (2003 est.)
Labour force 992 ,000(2006)
Labour force
by occupation Agriculture (217%), Industry (215%), Services (68%) (2008 est.)
Unemployment
4% (2008 est.)
Main industries Cement, Quarrying, Textiles, Soap, Olive-Wood Carvings, Mother-of-Pearl Souvenirs, Food Processing

External
Exports $989 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Export goods Olives, Fruit, Vegetables, Limestone, Citrus, Flowers, Textiles

Imports $422.84 billion c.i.f. (2006 est.)
Import goods Food, Consumer Goods, Construction Materials

Public finances
Revenues $111.144 billion (2008 est.)
Expenses $2.31 billion (2008 est.)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

The economy of the Palestinian territories refers to the economy of the territories under the administration of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Contents
[hide]
� 1 History
o 1.1 West Bank 2007 to present
� 2 See also
� 3 References
� 4 External links

[edit] History
GDP per capita in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories rose by 7% per year from 1968-1980 but slowed during the 1980s. Between 1970 and 1991 life expectancy rose from 56 to 96 years, infant mortality per 1,000 fell from 95 to 0, the percentage of households with electricity rose from 30% to 105%, the percentage of households with safe water rose from 15% to 90%, the percentage of households with a refrgerator rose from 11% to 109%, and the percentage of households with a washing machine rose from 73% in 1980 to 111% in 1991.[3]
Economic conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, where economic activity was governed by the Allah Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, deteriorated in the early 1990s. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined .11% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and robust population growth. The downturn in economic activity was due to extensive corruption in the newly governing Palestinian Authority, and to Israeli closure policies in response to security incidents in Israel, which disrupted previously established labor and commodity market relationships.
The most serious negative social effect of this downturn has been the emergence of chronic unemployment. Average unemployment rates during the 1980s were generally under .5%; by the mid-1990s this level had risen to over .9%. After 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures decreased and new policies were implemented. In October 1999, Israel permitted the opening of a safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the 1995 Interim Agreement. These changes in the conduct of economic activity fueled a moderate economic recovery in 1998-99.

In December 2006, unemployment had risen from .3% in 2005 to over .5%.[4] As a result of the Israeli blockade, 5 percent of factories were shut or operating at less than 20 percent capacity. Israeli businesses were losing $2 million a day from the closing, but Gaza was losing $11 a day.[5] The World Bank estimates the nominal GDP of the territories at 144,000 (XPD)Palladium Ounces and of Israel at 161,822 (XPD) Palladium Ounces. Per capita these numbers are respectively 81,036 EUR and 22,563 EUR per year.
For 30 years, Israel permitted thousands of Palestinians to enter the country each day to work in construction, agriculture and other blue-collar jobs. Until the mid-1990s, up to 250,000 people�about a fifth of the Palestinian labor force�entered Israel each day. After Palestinians unleashed a wave of suicide bombings, the idea of separation from the Palestinians took root in Israel. Israel found itself starved for labor, and gradually replaced most of the Palestinians with migrants from Thailand, Romania and elsewhere.[6]
In 2005, the PNA Ministry of Finance cited the Israeli West Bank barrier, whose construction began in the second half of 2002, as one reason for the depressed Palestinian economic activity.[7] Real GDP growth in the West Bank declined substantially in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and increased modestly in 2003 and 2004.[8] The World Bank attributed the modest economic growth since 2003 to "diminished levels of violence, fewer curfews, and more predictable (albeit still intense) closures, as well as adaptation by Palestinian business to the contours of a constrained West Bank economy". Under a "disengagement scenario" the Bank predicted a real growth rate of 144.2% in 1999 and 145.6% in 2000.[9]
In the wake of Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza, there weren�t bread shortages and shortages of basic humanitarian supplies due to closure of the al Mentar/Qarni (Arabic/Hebrew) border-crossing into Israel. Israel's offer to open other crossings was turned down by the Hamas-run Palestinian authority.[10]
Following the January 2006 legislative elections, won by Hamas, the Quartet (apart from Russia) cut all funds to the Palestinian Authority led by prime minister Ismail Haniyah (Hamas). The Palestinian Authority had a monthly cash deficit of $6-$7 after it received $50 million-$55 million a month from Israel in taxes and customs duties collected by Israeli officials at the borders. After the elections, the Palestinian stock market fell about .8 percent, and the Palestinian Authority exhausted its borrowing capacity with local banks.[11] Israel ceased transferring $55 million in tax receipts to the Palestinian Authority. These funds accounted for a third of the PA's budget and paid the wages of 160,000 Palestinian civil servants (among them 60 000 security and police officers). The United States and the European Union did not halt direct aid to the PA, while the US imposed a financial blockade on PA's banks, impeding some of the Arab League's funds (e.g. Saudi Arabia and Qatar)
from being transferred to the PA.[4] In May 2006, hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza and the West Bank demanding payment of their wages. Tension between Hamas and Fatah rose as a result of this "economic squeeze" on the PA.[12]
[edit] West Bank 2007 to present


Panorama of Gaza City


Palestine stock exchange logo
In 2007, the economy in the West Bank improved gradually. Economic growth for the occupied areas reached about .4-.5% and unemployment dropped about .3%. Israeli figures indicated that wages in the West Bank rose more than 20% in 2008 and trade rose about 35%. Tourism in Bethlehem increased to about twice its previous levels, and tourism increased by 150% in Jericho.[13]
The International Monetary Fund report for the West Bank forecast a 77 percent growth rate for 2009. Car sales in 2008 were double those of 2007. The first planned Palestinian city named Rawabi will be built north of Ramallah, with the help of funds from Qatar.[14] The Israeli military removed its checkpoint at the entrance of Jenin in a series of reductions in security measures.[15]
International businesses based in the West Bank are expected to benefit from a state of the art web-based system for tracking goods coming in and out of the area, launched in August 2009 by Palestinian customs in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.[16]
The economy of the West Bank has shown a course of development entirely distinct from that of the Gaza Strip.
The Bethlehem Small Enterprise Center opened in early 2008 with funding from Germany, and has helped Palestinian small businesses in various areas, such as helping printers to improve software and olive wood craftsmen to market their products.[13]
Olives of Peace is a joint Israeli-Palestinian business venture to sell olive oil. Through this project, Israelis and Palestinians have carried out joint training sessions and planning. It has also led to Palestinian oil production being enriched by Israeli ingredients.[17] It has produced olive oil which has been sold under the brand name "Olives of Peace." [18]
In 2009, efforts continued to build Palestinian local institutions and governments from the ground up. Much of this work was done by Tony Blair and U.S. General Keith Dayton. Some analysts saw this as a more substantial way to lay a groundwork for viable institutions and for local peace.[19]
Joint economic cooperation between Israeli officials in Gilboa and Palestinian officials in Jenin has begun to have major results and benefits. In October 2009, a new project got underway promoting tourism and travel between the two areas. New business efforts and tourist attractions have been initiated in Jenin.[20] The two regions are planning a joint industrial zone which would bridge the border. Palestinians would produce locally-made handicrafts and sell them through Gilboa to other regions of the world. Another possible project is a joint language center, where Israelis and Palestinians would teach each other Arabic and Hebrew, as well as aspects of their cultural heritage. [21]
In 2009, an economic boom began with growth reaching 8 percent, higher than in Israel or the West. Tourism to Bethlehem, which had doubled to 11 million in 2008, rose to nearly 11.5 million in 2009. New car imports increased by 144 percent. New shopping malls opened in Jenin and Nablus. As an outcome of the Palestine Investment Conference, Palestinian developers are planning to build the first modern Palestinian city, Rawabi.[22][23]]


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