São Paulo – The economy of Palestine is growing less than expected this year and unemployment is on the rise. The aid that the Palestinian Authority receives dropped in 2012 and the lack of money even threatens wages of civil servants. This is the conclusion reached by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission, according to information disclosed by British newspaper Financial Times.
To the head of the IMF mission to Palestine, Oussama Kanaan, many of the financial problems in Gaza Strip and the West Bank are caused by the Israeli blockade. Apart from that, there has been a “significant drop” in donations received from other countries by the Palestinian Authority, especially from the Arabs.
Still according to the IMF, the growth of the economy of the West Bank, which had been 9%, on average, between 2008 and 2010, dropped to 5% in 2011 and in the first quarter of this year. Unemployment grew 16% in the first half of 2011, to 19% in the first half of this year.
In Gaza Strip, the growth reached 20% in 2010 and in 2011, but 6% in the first quarter of this year. The unemployment is now at 30%. According to the IMF, Palestine has a fiscal deficit of US$ 400 million, which could affect wage payment.
*Translated by Mark Ament
