GENEVA: The Palestinian economy is “in free fall,” the United Nations reported Thursday, with production in Gaza plunging to one-sixth of its level before Israeli forces began a blistering military response to the Oct. 7 attacks in the territory.
The report from UN Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, also warned of “rapid and alarming economic decline” in the West Bank, citing expanded Israeli settlements, land confiscations, demolition of Palestinian buildings and violence by settlers.
The report made no mention of corruption in Palestinian institutions.
“The Palestinian economy is in free fall,” Pedro Manuel Moreno, the agency’s deputy secretary-general, told reporters in Geneva. “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.”
That would include a “comprehensive recovery plan” for Palestinian areas, more international aid, the lifting of Israel’s blockade on Gaza, and the release of revenues and withheld funds for Palestinians retained by Israel, he said.
Gaza’s economy was weak even before the war, when unemployment was close to 50 percent, but the war has brought it to a near-standstill, with the UN estimating that roughly 90 percent of the territory’s population has been displaced, many living in squalid tent camps and dependent on international aid.
The war has also hurt the West Bank. After the Oct. 7 attacks, Israel immediately revoked work permits that allowed some 150,000 Palestinians to work inside Israel, depriving them of a key source of income.
A military crackdown that Israel says is aimed at militants has also rippled through the economy, with frequent army raids and military checkpoints making it difficult for people to work or move around.
With violence continuing, there’s little sign of any recovery plan being launched anytime soon.
Mutasim Elagraa, who coordinates UNCTAD’s assistance to Palestinians, said: “If we want to return Gaza to pre-October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
The ultimate goal is “to put Gaza on a path of sustainable development,” which will take more time and money, he said.
Economic output in Gaza plunged to just over $221 million in the half-year including the last quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024 — the last quarter for which figures are available — or about 16 percent of the total figure for the same half-year period in 2022 and 2023, when the total was just over $1.34 billion, the agency said.
Meanwhile, more than 300,000 jobs in the West Bank — home to some 3 million Palestinians — have been lost, driving unemployment rates up to 32 percent, up from under 13 percent before the conflict, the agency reported.
By early this year, as much as 96 percent of Gaza’s farming assets, including livestock farms, orchards, machinery and storage facilities, had been “decimated,” UNCTAD said.
Over 80 percent of businesses were damaged or destroyed, and the damage has continued to worsen, it said.
Since the 1990s, Israel has collected import duties for Palestinians — leaving about two-thirds of all Palestinian tax revenue under the control of the Israeli government. Israel has repeatedly withheld or suspended the payments, accusing the Palestinian Authority of encouraging violence or taking hostile steps against Israel in the UN and other international bodies.
From 2019 through April this year, Israel had withheld or deducted a total of more than $1.4 billion, crimping the ability of Palestinian officials to provide public services and pay salaries, pensions and debts, it said. The European Union last month said it paid some $43 million to help the Palestinian Authority pay salaries and pensions in the West Bank.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,084 Palestinians and wounded another 95,029, the territory’s Health Ministry said. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilians and militants.
Israel launched its campaign vowing to destroy the Palestinian group Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 250 others.
Palestinian economy is in free fall and will require billions to rebuild: UN
https://arab.news/cbun3
Palestinian economy is in free fall and will require billions to rebuild: UN
- The report from UN Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, also warned of “rapid and alarming economic decline” in the West Bank, citing expanded Israeli settlements
- The report made no mention of corruption in Palestinian institutions
Israeli forces start withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to corridor along Egypt-Gaza border, pro-Hamas media says
- Netanyahu earlier warned that a ceasefire wouldn’t go forward unless Israel received the names of hostages to be released, as agreed
CAIRO: Israeli forces started withdrawing from areas in Gaza’s Rafah to the Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, pro-Hamas media reported early on Sunday.
Houthis warn of ‘consequences’ for any attacks on Yemen during Gaza ceasefire
- An initial 42-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war is scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT Sunday
- “The American aircraft carrier was forced to leave the theater of operations,” the rebels’ statement said
SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on an American aircraft carrier on Sunday and warned of “consequences” for any retaliation during the coming Gaza ceasefire.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces warn the enemy forces in the Red Sea of the consequences of any aggression against our country during the ceasefire period in Gaza,” the rebels said in a statement.
“They will confront any aggression with specific military operations against those forces without a ceiling or red lines.”
An initial 42-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war is scheduled to begin at 0630 GMT Sunday.
The Houthis, who have attacked shipping in the Red Sea throughout the war in Gaza, said they targeted the USS Harry S. Truman and other “warships” with drones and cruise missiles.
“The American aircraft carrier was forced to leave the theater of operations,” the rebels’ statement said.
Part of Iran’s “axis of resistance,” the Houthis have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians.
They have also waged a harassment campaign against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, severely disrupting trade routes.
On Friday, the Yemeni rebels warned they would keep up their attacks if Israel did not respect the terms of the ceasefire with Hamas.
Hope and tears as youngest Israeli hostage turns two
- “Today, I tried to write a birthday message for Kfir for the second time,” his aunt Ofri Bibas Levy said
- Hamas said in November 2023 that the two boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli air strike, but the Israeli military has not confirmed their deaths
TEL AVIV: Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to demand freedom for hostages held in Gaza, anxious the ceasefire deal would collapse, with many dwelling on the fate of Kfir Bibas, the youngest captive whose second birthday fell on Saturday.
“Today, I tried to write a birthday message for Kfir for the second time,” his aunt Ofri Bibas Levy said. “A message for a child who cannot celebrate... A child trapped in hell. A child who might not even be alive. But no words come out, only tears.”
Taken alongside his now four-year-old brother Ariel and his mother and father, Shiri and Yarden, he has become a symbol of the suffering of the hostages.
“I have two orange ballons on my car,” said Sigal Kirsch in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square.” The color has become symbolic of the Bibas boys, both of whom are red-heads.
“I don’t have the words,” she said, visibly overcome with emotion.
Hamas said in November 2023 that the two boys and their mother were killed in an Israeli air strike, but the Israeli military has not confirmed their deaths.
Coming together to protest barely 12 hours before the first three hostages are due to be released, many couldn’t bring themselves to believe after so much false hope that the ordeal of the hostages might finally be over.
“Once they cross the (Gaza) border and they will be rejoined with their families then maybe we can breathe again,” said Shahar Mor Zahiro, the nephew of slain hostage Avraham Munder.
Anxiety was the overwhelming mood.
“This past week was hell,” said Kirsch, who had been every week to the gatherings at Hostage Square, across the road from Israeli military headquarters.
“On Tuesday we were sure that the deal would be signed... and it took until last night. So we’re very, very anxious,” she said.
The deal agreed between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, via mediators, is broken into three phases.
But, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under pressure from far-right elements of his government opposed to a ceasefire, protesters and families of the hostages expressed fears that the deal would collapse.
“In one sense (the mood) is a little more hopeful, and in another sense, it’s very sad. Because for the people who aren’t in the first phase, I can’t imagine how their hearts bleed at this point,” said Neil Trubowiz, 75, from Tel Aviv, in Hostage Square.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who opposed the deal, said he would remain in the government but that the prime minister had promised him the war would continue.
Mor Zahiro demanded that what he called “extremist elements” in the cabinet be prevented from collapsing the deal.
“Tell them to shut up!” he said. “Let the people come back to their loved ones.”
He denounced the idea that the war could start again. “Stop the fighting. Stop the war. Stop everything. Don’t shoot another bullet, let us heal. This is really crucial, otherwise there will be hell here for the next 50 years.”
On Saturday night, Netanyahu gave protesters and hostage families further cause for anxiety, saying the ceasefire deal could not go ahead until Hamas handed over a list of hostages to be released.
He also said in a televised address that Israel “reserved the right to return to war.”
Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage during Hamas’s surprise October 7 attack, 94 of whom remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
The lengthy ceasefire process, with the first 33 hostages released in small groups over 42 days, followed by a second and third phase that are still to be negotiated, leaves multiple opportunities for the process to collapse.
“We’re anticipating some good news tomorrow, but on the other hand, we’re very wary of what could happen in the meantime,” said Guy Perry, 58, also from Tel Aviv.
He described the possibility of a final end to the war and the return of all hostages as a “very, very dim light” at the end of the tunnel.
Despite their fears the deal could collapse at any moment, many couldn’t help but hope.
“I cannot wait to see my uncle, I really hope he managed to survive,” said Efrat Machikawa, whose uncle Gadi Moses turned 80 while held hostage in Gaza.
“I have to trust my hope. This has to happen, they have to come back.”
What we know about the Gaza hostage and prisoner exchange
- Israel’s Justice Ministry published their details early on Saturday, along with the ceasefire agreement, which said 30 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female hostage on Sunday
JERUSALEM: The ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is due to take effect from 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Sunday, following final approval of the deal by the Israeli government.
Thirty-three of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages, including women, children, men over 50 and ill and wounded captives, are to be freed over the course of the first phase of the ceasefire, due to last six weeks. Israel believes most are still alive but has received no confirmation from Hamas.
In return, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinians from its jails.
They include 737 male, female and teen-aged prisoners, some of whom are members of militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as of 1,167 Palestinians detained in Gaza since the start of the war and held in Israel.
Israel’s Justice Ministry published their details early on Saturday, along with the ceasefire agreement, which said 30 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female hostage on Sunday.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, the Israeli army will pull back from some of its positions in Gaza and Palestinians displaced from areas in northern Gaza will be allowed to return.
A second phase, exchanging the remaining hostages and completing the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza is expected to follow, depending on the results of negotiations, which will begin 16 days from the start of the ceasefire.
HOSTAGE AND PRISONER HANDOVER
On Sunday after 4 p.m. (1400 GMT), Israel will hand over 95 Palestinian prisoners and will receive three hostages in exchange. The prisoners to be released on the first day of the ceasefire do not include any prominent detainees, and many were recently detained and not tried or convicted.
The identity of the three hostages to be handed over is not yet known. The military says it will publish the names once they have received the hostages.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THEY ARE HANDED OVER?
The hostages will be handed by Hamas to Red Cross officials who will take them to the Israeli military in Gaza. The military has set up three locations near the northern, central and southern edges of Gaza in Erez, Re’im and Kerem Shalom to take charge of the hostages, according to the route they take out.
The hostages will be met there by medical staff, welfare specialists and psychologists to help with the initial transition before they are reunited with their families.
They will be taken by vehicle or helicopter to specialized facilities set up to receive them and help them adjust to returning from the trauma of 15 months in captivity. They will be kept away from the press and will receive medical and psychological support.
Hundreds rally in Tunisia to demand release of Saied critic
- Moussi, who had hoped to run in last year’s presidential election, stands accused of charges including “seeking to change the form of the state”
TUNIS: Hundreds demonstrated in the Tunisian capital on Saturday calling for the release of Abir Moussi, a critic of President Kais Saied jailed for more than a year.
The demonstrators shouted “freedom for Abir” and “we are opponents, not traitors” at the gathering in central Tunis, AFP journalists reported.
Moussi, 49, heads the Free Destourian Party, which critics accuse of seeking to restore the iron-fisted rule that Tunisians overthrew in the Arab Spring protests of 2011.
She has been in custody since her arrest in October 2023 outside the presidential palace where her party says she was seeking to lodge appeals against Saied’s decrees.
Moussi, who had hoped to run in last year’s presidential election, stands accused of charges including “seeking to change the form of the state.”
Saied was elected in 2019 but launched a sweeping power grab in 2021 and has since effectively ruled by decree.
In October, he was re-elected in a landslide after his main opponents were jailed.
Moussi was sentenced to 16 months in prison in November on charges of spreading “false news” after she criticized the electoral authority.
A leading figure in her party, Thameur Saad, said on Saturday that her conviction “is not worthy of a country that calls itself democratic.”
