The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNCTAD
UNCTAD Press Conference: Developments in the Economy of the OPT Report - 12 September 2024
Palestinian economy “in freefall” amid ongoing Gaza conflict - UNCTAD
Gaza’s economy has “collapsed months ago” while in the West Bank, violence and trade restrictions are fueling a massive surge in poverty and unemployment, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned on Thursday.
The war-torn enclave’s economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its 2022 level, while up to 96 per cent of its agricultural assets and 82 per cent of all its businesses have been destroyed, according to UNCTAD’s latest report.
“The Palestinian economy is in freefall,” UNCTAD deputy chief Pedro Manuel Moreno told journalists in Geneva. “The report calls for the international community to halt this economic freefall, address the humanitarian crisis and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development.”
Mr. Moreno insisted on the need for a “comprehensive recovery plan” for the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as increased international aid, the release of withheld Palestinian revenues withheld by Israel and an end to the blockade on Gaza.
According to UNCTAD, in addition to “unprecedented loss of life” and displacement, the combined impact of Israel’s military operation in Gaza that followed the attacks of 7 October 2023 by Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel, and the conflict’s repercussions in the West Bank “delivered an unparalleled shock that overwhelmed the Palestinian economy across the occupied Territory”.
The Palestinian agricultural sector shrunk by 11 per cent in the last quarter of 2023, which is “especially worrisome” given the sector’s importance in terms of jobs, exports and food security, said Mutasim Elagraa, coordinator of UNCTAD’s programme of assistance to the Palestinian people.
“The agricultural sector is a shock absorber - whenever there's a crisis and Palestinian workers lose their jobs, whether in the domestic economy or with their work in Israel and settlements, they go back to agriculture temporarily, and there they can produce some income,” he explained.
UNCTAD stressed that in the West Bank, settlement expansion and increased settler violence, land confiscations and demolition of Palestinian structures are driving population displacement and record unemployment, with over 300,000 jobs lost since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza.
“It's the highest unemployment recorded for the West Bank,” said UNCTAD economist Rami Alazzeh “Even in the peak of the second Intifada, the highest we've seen is 28 per cent. In the first quarter of 2024, unemployment reached 35 per cent” – almost triple what it was prior to October 2023.
In Gaza, the situation is even more “extreme” UNCTAD said, with two thirds of pre-war jobs lost by January 2024 and the entire population of the enclave dependent on international aid.
“What's left in Gaza is basically the humanitarian support… the humanitarian aid workers, local UN staff, doctors, nurses, that's it,” Mr. Alazzeh said. “The economy basically collapsed months ago.”
Asked about prospects for an economic recovery once the guns are silenced, UNCTAD’s Mr. Elagraa warned that “if we want to return Gaza to pre-October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
-Ends-
Story: UNCTAD Palestine Report – 12 September 2024
TRT: 03’36”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 12 September 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot of the press conference room with speakers on the podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD): “The Palestinian economy is in freefall. The report calls for the international community to halt this economic freefall, address the humanitarian crisis and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development. This includes considering a comprehensive recovery plan for the occupied Palestinian territory, increased international aid and support, release of withheld revenues and lifting the blockade on Gaza.”
- Medium shot: Press room with journalists and control room at the back.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Mutasim Elagraa, Coordinator, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Assistance to the Palestinian People: “The Palestinian agricultural sector in the last quarter of 2023 shrunk by 11 per cent, and that is especially worrisome because the agricultural sector provides a decent chunk of employment, and it produces income. It produces exports. It contributes to food security, and in Palestine it plays another special role. The agricultural sector is a shock absorber - whenever there's a crisis and Palestinian workers lose their jobs, whether in the domestic economy or with their work in Israel and settlements, they go back to agriculture temporarily, and there they can produce some income.”
- Close shot: Journalist in the Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rami Alazzeh, Economist, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD): “Just to give you a comparison: in the peak of the second Intifada, in 2000 to 2002, the Palestinian economy lost 33 per cent of its value. And now we're seeing this drop over one year. Basically, it's the highest unemployment recorded for the West Bank. Even in the peak of the second Intifada, the highest we've seen is 28 per cent. In the first quarter of 2024, unemployment reached 35 per cent. So we're talking about almost triple what it was prior to October 2023.”
- Medium shot: Speakers at the podium in the Press room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Mutasim Elagraa, Coordinator, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Assistance to the Palestinian People: “The problem is general. It's in Gaza, in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. It's not just Gaza. Although in Gaza, it is really extreme. It will take decades and high tens of billions of dollars, if not even more, to rebuild Gaza and put it back like where it was before October 2023. So if we want to return Gaza to pre-October 2023, we need tens of billions of dollars, or even more, and decades.”
- Medium shot: Speakers at the podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Rami Alazzeh, Economist, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD): “What's left in Gaza is basically the humanitarian support. There's not much left in Gaza and when you say two thirds of the jobs were lost, already Gaza's unemployment before October 2023 was 45 per cent. So what's left in Gaza now is just the humanitarian aid workers, local UN staff, doctors, nurses. That's it. The economy basically collapsed months ago. So this is what's left in Gaza functioning now.”
- Medium shot: Journalist in the press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.