The economy in the Palestinian Territories is showing “signs of recovery” but still faces serious challenges including “very high unemployment and deteriorating social conditions” in Gaza, the World Bank said Tuesday.
In the first half of 2021, growth reached 5.4 percent, and is expected to reach 6% this year, the World Bank said in a report. However, growth in 2022 is predicted to slow to around 3%, it added.
“The way ahead is still uncertain,” said Kanthan Shankar, World Bank Country Director for the West Bank and Gaza, adding that progress “depends on coordinated actions by all parties in revitalizing the economy and providing job opportunities for the young population.”
3 View gallery
A Gaza resident carries a rug pulled out of the rubble of a building bombed by Israel during the May fighting
(Photo: AFP)
Israel issued thousands of work permits for Gaza residents last month, "conditional upon the continued preservation of the region's security stability," the Israeli coordinator of government activities in the territories said.
The Gaza Strip was hit hard during 11-days of devastating conflict with Israel in May, while the economy was also impacted by restrictions imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus.
In Gaza, a Palestinian enclave of two million people controlled by the Islamist terror group Hamas, unemployment stands at 45%, while the poverty rate has risen to 59% from 43% five years ago.