This is an excerpt from an article written in Haaretz that picked up the report from Reuters. We find the World Bank, that heretofore did nothing for Gaza, and even encouraged business investment in the wall in order to set up a free market ghetto zone, now since Wolfowitz's ignominious exit cries the blues about Gaza's possible "irreversible" economic collapse.
Never mind that this is unprecedented - to harshly sanction a brutally occupied people! First, with complicity of Israel for the United States and it's allies to arm Fatah and create a crisis on a democratically elected body. To withhold the money due and close off an entire territory representing over a million people, to replace it with a trickle of food aid for bare subsistence. When do these crimes stop?
Never mind that this is unprecedented - to harshly sanction a brutally occupied people! First, with complicity of Israel for the United States and it's allies to arm Fatah and create a crisis on a democratically elected body. To withhold the money due and close off an entire territory representing over a million people, to replace it with a trickle of food aid for bare subsistence. When do these crimes stop?
"The World Bank said on Thursday the prolonged closure of Israel's border crossings with Hamas-controlled Gaza could lead to the coastal strip's "irreversible" economic collapse. The international lending agency delivered that stark assessment during a closed-door meeting of aid groups and private sector organizations.
Israel has largely closed the Karni commercial crossing, Gaza's economic lifeline, in an effort to isolate Hamas after it seized control of the Gaza Strip a month ago. Egypt has also kept mainly shut Gaza's border crossing with the Sinai since mid-June.
Israel has largely closed the Karni commercial crossing, Gaza's economic lifeline, in an effort to isolate Hamas after it seized control of the Gaza Strip a month ago. Egypt has also kept mainly shut Gaza's border crossing with the Sinai since mid-June.
Israel has allowed humanitarian aid into the territory through smaller crossings. While aid groups said this should be sufficient to head off a food shortage in the territory of 1.5 million people, they warned Gaza's economy would be devastated.
Almost all Gaza businesses depend on imported raw materials and other supplies that must pass through the strip's shuttered crossings with Israel.
"The pillars of Gaza's economy have weakened over the years. Now, with a sustained closure on this current scale, they would be at risk of virtually irreversible collapse," Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank's acting country director for the West Bank and Gaza, told the aid groups.
(Tank at Karni Crossing)
Almost all Gaza businesses depend on imported raw materials and other supplies that must pass through the strip's shuttered crossings with Israel.
"The pillars of Gaza's economy have weakened over the years. Now, with a sustained closure on this current scale, they would be at risk of virtually irreversible collapse," Faris Hadad-Zervos, the World Bank's acting country director for the West Bank and Gaza, told the aid groups.
(Tank at Karni Crossing)
A copy of the World Bank's presentation was obtained by Reuters from a participant in the meeting. "A solution must be reached very soon, if not immediately... Otherwise, Gaza's dependence on humanitarian assistance could become a long-term and comprehensive situation. These impacts will be difficult to reverse," Hadad-Zervos said.
According to statistics compiled by the Palestine Trade Center and the Palestinian Federation of Industries, more than 3,190 Gaza businesses have temporarily shut down in the last month. Some 65,800 workers have also been temporarily laid off. Up to 54 percent of employment in Gaza is generated by the private sector, representing more than 100,000 jobs.
According to statistics compiled by the Palestine Trade Center and the Palestinian Federation of Industries, more than 3,190 Gaza businesses have temporarily shut down in the last month. Some 65,800 workers have also been temporarily laid off. Up to 54 percent of employment in Gaza is generated by the private sector, representing more than 100,000 jobs.
Hadad-Zervos said a loss of a third of those jobs would translate into unemployment levels of over 37 percent, up from 30 percent at the beginning of the year. He said unemployment could reach the unprecedented level of 44 percent.
Israel wants to isolate Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while allowing funds and goods to flow to President Mahmoud Abbas's emergency administration in the West Bank. Israel controls the land crossings between Gaza and Israel, as well as Gaza's air space and territorial waters."
AND NOW THERE ARE 8
(And the Israelis want to stop an academic boycott)
GAZA FACTS
ONE COUNTRY
FREE THE P
NO COMPROMISES
(July 12th, empty Karni Crossing)
(And the Israelis want to stop an academic boycott)
GAZA FACTS
ONE COUNTRY
FREE THE P
NO COMPROMISES
(July 12th, empty Karni Crossing)
"About 80 percent of private sector businesses have closed, and the remaining establishments are operating at around 60 percent capacity, Paltrade, a local business group, reported. Also, Israel has cancelled the Gaza customs code, making importing goods more difficult. World Bank statistics indicate over 80 percent of Gazans live below a poverty line of US$2.41 a day.
Goods such as cement are not making it into Gaza. The UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, announced this week the halting of all its building projects in Gaza. "Some $93 million worth of projects are on hold because cement and other building supplies have run out," said John Ging, UNRWA's Gaza director.
"This is all vital humanitarian work," he said in a statement, noting that work on refugee shelters, sewage treatment plants, water works and health centres was affected. "These have serious public health implications." Thousands of refugees subsequently lost their jobs.
Chris Gunness, an UNRWA official, was concerned about a possible amplified need for relief efforts. "With no income, people will become more aid dependent. We anticipate the emergency caseload numbers will increase," Gunness said.
People in Gaza speak of a desperate situation, as there are few job opportunities. Some, locals say, are working for pitifully low wages, attempting to bring home a salary. They blame wealthy residents for taking advantage of the current situation.
Israeli security officials say they are currently focused on getting food aid into Gaza, and will not begin to deal with the exports matter for "at least another two weeks or a month". Another official said: "Wheat, for example, will take priority over cement needed for long term projects."
They say there is a clear goal of "preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," although some observers expressed concern that little is being done to prevent a collapse of Gaza's economy and decrease the reliance on aid from NGOs and UN agencies. The military says it cannot reopen the main commercial Karni Crossing for exports as it requires coordination on the Palestinian side, something they cannot do with Hamas.
As Israel will not talk with Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, coordination on goods is conducted largely by the military and the private sector, while agencies such as the World Food Programme monitor the markets and needs in Gaza. However, aid workers say this should only be a temporary solution, as the interests of businesses should not dictate what goods go in. An independent body, with health and nutritional qualifications, should supervise the operations, some say.
The Palestinian Authority recently paid salaries to tens of thousands of employees who had not received payments in over 18 months, after Israel released withheld tax funds. However, some employees say the recent payments were hardly felt.
"We are using the money to pay off debts. For 18 months my family lived on borrowed funds," said a Palestinian employee of a security organ in Bethlehem, on the West Bank.
"I kept working all this time because there are no jobs," he said, adding that most of the 1,000 security officers in Bethlehem were in similar situations.
Hanadi, a mother of two and pregnant with her third, lives in the nearby village Beit Sahour. She said she received only a partial payment, and is still owed over $6,000."
This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
Goods such as cement are not making it into Gaza. The UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, announced this week the halting of all its building projects in Gaza. "Some $93 million worth of projects are on hold because cement and other building supplies have run out," said John Ging, UNRWA's Gaza director.
"This is all vital humanitarian work," he said in a statement, noting that work on refugee shelters, sewage treatment plants, water works and health centres was affected. "These have serious public health implications." Thousands of refugees subsequently lost their jobs.
Chris Gunness, an UNRWA official, was concerned about a possible amplified need for relief efforts. "With no income, people will become more aid dependent. We anticipate the emergency caseload numbers will increase," Gunness said.
People in Gaza speak of a desperate situation, as there are few job opportunities. Some, locals say, are working for pitifully low wages, attempting to bring home a salary. They blame wealthy residents for taking advantage of the current situation.
Israeli security officials say they are currently focused on getting food aid into Gaza, and will not begin to deal with the exports matter for "at least another two weeks or a month". Another official said: "Wheat, for example, will take priority over cement needed for long term projects."
They say there is a clear goal of "preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza," although some observers expressed concern that little is being done to prevent a collapse of Gaza's economy and decrease the reliance on aid from NGOs and UN agencies. The military says it cannot reopen the main commercial Karni Crossing for exports as it requires coordination on the Palestinian side, something they cannot do with Hamas.
As Israel will not talk with Hamas, which does not recognize Israel, coordination on goods is conducted largely by the military and the private sector, while agencies such as the World Food Programme monitor the markets and needs in Gaza. However, aid workers say this should only be a temporary solution, as the interests of businesses should not dictate what goods go in. An independent body, with health and nutritional qualifications, should supervise the operations, some say.
The Palestinian Authority recently paid salaries to tens of thousands of employees who had not received payments in over 18 months, after Israel released withheld tax funds. However, some employees say the recent payments were hardly felt.
"We are using the money to pay off debts. For 18 months my family lived on borrowed funds," said a Palestinian employee of a security organ in Bethlehem, on the West Bank.
"I kept working all this time because there are no jobs," he said, adding that most of the 1,000 security officers in Bethlehem were in similar situations.
Hanadi, a mother of two and pregnant with her third, lives in the nearby village Beit Sahour. She said she received only a partial payment, and is still owed over $6,000."
This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
