Economic growth in the Palestinian territories is overly dependent on donor money and will be “unsustainable” as long as Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian private sector continue, a report by the World Bank argues.
The report says real growth in the West Bank and Gaza stood at 9.3 per cent last year, similar to the fastest-growing economies in the world. It stresses, however, that the territories suffer from unemployment and poverty, and recent growth is fed by an influx of donor money, not a “stifled private sector”.
The report also points out that the rebound in Gaza, whose economy collapsed during and after the 2008-09 war with Israel but grew nearly 15 per cent last year, took place “from a very low base”.
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