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Palestinian children suffer Isreali atrocities
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LONDON,
August 31, (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Nearly two years of
fighting have left half of the Palestinian work force jobless and raised
the specter of malnutrition. In Israel, its violence against civilians
has hobbled economic growth and shattered investor confidence.
A
sharp decline in the economics of both Palestine and Israel was the
immediate effect of the Israeli aggressions that blazed at the beginning
of the Palestinian Intifada, a British based The Guardian reported
Saturday, August 31.
For
the Palestinians, the fighting has led to utter paralysis in the
economy. Some key indicators illustrating the downturn since 2000 in
both economics were down here.
For
Israel Gross Domestic Product (GDP), shrank by 1% in 2001 and is
expected to fall another one percent this year. Income per capita fell
by 3% in 2001 and is expected to fall another 3% this year, the Guardian
added.
Michael
Sarel, chief economist for the Israeli Finance Ministry, said the
Intifada accounts for half the recession and the high-tech bust the
other half.
Noting
a 6% decline in income per capita over the last two years, he added:
“This size of a decline in the Israeli economy is unprecedented,”
the Guardian reported.
The
rise in unemployment in Israel is now close to 11%, up from an average
of 8% during the 1990s.
The
tourism sector suffered the worst damages accounting for 3% of Israel's
GDP before the uprising and has fallen by 70% since 2000. The fall was
not restricted to the number of the tourists only, but also the hotels
and all the workers in that field as tourists refused to visit the
country where innocent people are being killed every day.
The
paper described the issue for the Palestinians as not being slower
growth or fluctuations in this or that indicator. It's utter paralysis.
The
Israeli military has imposed stiff curfews and sealed most major urban
centers in the West Bank, severely restricting the movement of people
and goods.
In
Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin and other towns, people are confined to
their homes for days at a time.
The
result has been economic collapse in the Palestinian territories. U.N.
Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen released data on Thursday, August 29
showing unemployment in the West Bank at 55%. In the Gaza Strip, he
said, 70% of the people now live in poverty, defined as per capita
consumption of less than $2 a day. The poverty rate was 23% in 1997, and
20% in 1990.
The
Palestinian Child malnutrition has increased threefold since 2000. In a
survey two years ago for the U.S. Agency for International Development,
a study found that 22% of Palestinian children under age 5 are
malnourished, up from 7%.
Unemployment
during the second quarter of 2002 increased from 36% to 50% in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip.
About
250,000 Palestinians, or a third of the labor force, traveled to Israel
before the uprising began. These workers were the backbone of the
Palestinian economy, each supporting an estimated 10 people on average.
The
tourism sector also was badly affected in the West Bank and Gaza as
there is virtually no investment at all. Aid money no longer goes to
build the foundations of a Palestinian state, but to short-term relief
meant to prevent malnutrition and epidemics.
In
Bethlehem most souvenir shops have closed, and the three or four still
open have no customers. “Ninety-nine percent discount!” shouts a
vendor pleading for some business, any business.
Akeel
Ibrahim sells bead necklaces outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.
He and 26 family members living in a three-room dwelling must now rely
on handouts to survive.
“My
brothers all lost their jobs in Israel,” says Ibrahim, 30. “We're
praying to God to change this situation. Without tourists in Bethlehem,
there is no life.”
Income
losses resulting from loss of jobs in Israel - plus closures and
restrictions in the Palestinian territories - stand at $7.6 million per
day, or $3.3 billion since October 2000.
The
Guardian report mentioned that the sources of this information were the
United Nations, Israeli finance ministry, Palestinian trade ministry,
U.S. Agency for International Development.
