The international community urgently needs to intervene to pressure Israel to allow us access to our natural resources. Israel fears an economic downturn could provoke violence in the West Bank, with impoverished Palestinians feeling they might have little to lose by staging another uprising against the occupation. The economy in the Israeli occupied West Bank shrank for the first time in a decade in the first half of 2013, according to a World Bank report this month which mostly faulted Israeli curbs on Palestinian movement and access to resources. Contraction of 0.1 percent came as foreign donor aid to the West Banks puny economy fell by more than half in 2012. Israels restrictions affect much of Palestinian economic life. It controls every access point, which enables it to oversee all imports and exports, creating bureaucratic hurdles that Palestinians say stifle or kill entrepreneurship. The Israelis also impose strict limits on water supply, which affects industry and agriculture. Israel has not allowed Palestinians access to 3G mobile technology, citing security concerns, rendering many smartphone apps largely useless. The impact from the slowdown is clear even in well-heeled Ramallah, the Palestinian Authoritys administrative capital which feels a world away from poorer, outlying areas. When I opened my restaurant eight years ago, I had five or six workers. Today I have three and if the situation gets any worse, that number might become two, said Ahmed Kdour, owner of the Chicago restaurant. Many people have put their shops up for sale saying they are travelling or dont have time for the business, but it is because of the economic situation, he added.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 06:12:13 +0000
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