Eleven months into the Middle East conflict, the Palestinian territories are nearing free economic fall, amid a historic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, according to a World Bank report. Official data reveal a 35 percent decline in real GDP in the first quarter of 2024 for the Palestinian territories, representing the largest economic contraction ever.
According to the World Bank's report, titled "The Impact of the Middle East Conflict on the Palestinian Economy," the conflict has pushed Gaza's economy to the brink of total collapse, with an 86 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2024. The near-total halt in economic activity has also left the Strip in a deep recession, with its share of the Palestinian economy falling from 17 percent – on average in previous years – to less than 5 percent. In parallel, the West Bank's economy contracted by 25 percent in the first quarter of 2024, with the trade, services, construction, and manufacturing sectors experiencing the largest declines.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
