Fragile Palestinian economy gets a gut punch

(7 Jun 2020) LEAD IN: Palestinians worry as their frail economy weakens further amid the pandemic. STORY-LINE: The lockdown and the virus restrictions have only caused more damage to the Palestinian economy. Many day-labourers have been laid off as businesses had to shut down. "Those who were planning to start new projects have stopped," says Salah Musa, a construction worker from Ramallah. "At the same time there are others who are suffering, frankly these are the workers, those who did not work for the past 30 days," he adds. According to the World Bank, the Palestinian economy could shrink by as much as 11% in the coming year. "The economic situation is very much receding, first, because of the coronavirus and also because of the political situation as well. People are worried in general," says a merchant. The economy has also been affected by soaring tensions with Israel ahead of Israel's plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is expected to face a funding gap of over $1.5 billion this year, up from $800 million in 2019, the World Bank said. The Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, imposed sweeping measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak in March and April. It succeeded in limiting the total number of cases to fewer than 400, with just two fatalities. But the closures hurt a local economy already weakened by decades of military occupation, a recent financial dispute with Israel and U.S. President Donald Trump's suspension of nearly all aid to the Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, some 1 million people rely on food vouchers from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Amid the pandemic, UNRWA has set up a new mechanism that sees food parcels delivered to them at their doorsteps. "The voucher is the basic thing. Without it, people will beg and no one will find anything to eat," says Ola al-Ghourani, one of the beneficiaries. The aid contains flour, rice, oil and canned food. The coastal territory of Gaza has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. More than a quarter of Palestinians lived in poverty before the virus. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/74600d1263e94f83829a0d62a16a3abb

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