Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace | Page 30
Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace
percent per annum in 2000-2002. Subsequent Palestinian reforms, accompanied by large
inflows of donor assistance and some easing of movement restrictions, allowed growth to
resume between 2007 and 2011. Extraordinary levels of donor budget support will not
likely continue, so sustaining growth will require further Palestinian reforms and the
reversal of Israeli occupation policies that hinder growth.
Israeli occupation, control over natural resources, and restrictions on the
movement of labor, imports and exports has severely constrained Palestinians’ chances
for economic development. In Gaza, the lack of inputs and lack of access to markets have
resulted in a virtual shut-down of the private sector, which, in turn, has led to high levels
of unemployment, underemployment and poverty. lxx Economic opportunity for
Palestinians in the West Bank is also seriously constrained by Israeli policies, especially
in Area C and East Jerusalem. This feeds the more radical wing of Palestinian politics.
Every morning, hours before dawn, around 30,000 Palestinian laborers make their
way from the occupied West Bank, where they live, and enter Israel to try to get to their
jobs. These workers, desperate to keep their jobs, arrive at the checkpoints hours early,
sleeping on concrete on the Palestinian side of the checkpoint so that they make it
through in time. Workers say they work in Israel for a variety of reasons, but most point
to a lack of opportunity, high unemployment and low wages in the occupied West
Bank.lxxi West Bank Palestinian workers in Israel make an average of around $65 a day,
more than double the average daily wage in the West Bank. Given the high demand for
work permits, which are only granted to a fraction of applicants, workers have no job
security, creating dangerously helpless situations for thousands. With the onslaught of
recent violence, things have only gotten worse for the Palestinians trying to make a living
for their families.lxxii
Israeli policies that seriously hinder Palestinian economic development include
restrictions on freedom of movement, unequal and insufficient access to water, denial of
permission for Palestinians to build on or improve their property, toleration of settler
violence against Palestinians and their property (destroying houses and orchardslxxiii ),
failure to provide public services for the occupied population, restriction of electronic
communications, and subsidies and encouragement for Israeli settlements to exploit
resources east of the Green Line in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Such practices violate
international law, which prohibit the occupying power from exploiting the resources of
the occupied territory and require the occupying power to provide public services and
protection to the local population.lxxiv
World Bank reports show evidence that alleviating today’s restrictions on
Palestinian activity and production in Area C would add about USD 3.4 billion to
Palestinian GDP —or 35 percent of its 2011 GDP. See Annex B. About two-thirds of this
would be direct benefits, mostly through opportunities for agricultural expansion and
Dead Sea minerals exploitationlxxv , plus some from tourism, construction,
telecommunications, mining and quarrying. The other third would be indirect benefits
from the multiplier effects of the potential growth in the leading sectors.lxxvi Improving
the capacity for Palestinian economic growth in Area C would not solve all the
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