Q: What is the economic situation in the Palestinian territories after the incursion of the past four months?
Q: What is the economic situation in the Palestinian territories after the incursion of the past four months?
A: The economic situation is one of the most important aspects of the Palestinian struggle. The Israelis believe that by economic strangulation, they can force the Palestinians to kneel in submission, forgetting who the other side is. The current economic situation of extreme poverty creates problems within the Palestinian community which might result in a very explosive situation for the security on the Palestinian front. Just to mention some numbers, in the past month the unemployment rate is 100 percent with the exception of government employees. This is a large section of the Palestinian community. The Palestinian market cannot survive, nor the banks, nor the shops, nor industry because the Palestinian workers are the gears the make the economy run. Everything depends on this workforce. That is why there is economic stagnation. The latest unemployment statistics is 60% in all of Palestine, and 70% in the refugee camps. I am sure that this number is much higher now. This situation has resulted in the lack of trust in the Palestinian Authority and the feasibility of any political resolution to the conflict. In the end the most important thing is bread.
The lack of economic stability for the Palestinian family has resulted in the young men looking for alternatives, and I’m afraid that the alternative will be a much more violent reaction, political violence, or what is called violent struggle. Before, it was difficult for political factions to find anyone that was willing to be a martyr. Today there are so many that they cannot absorb them all. These men are trying to run away from the depressing reality, and find a solution for it, even if it means a permanent one. Especially when so many believe there is a heaven like in the Muslim thought and culture. Shutting down borders and roads played a big role in cutting off the Palestinian people from their families abroad in the Gulf or in other countries, which has had a devastating effect on their income. Also, shutting down the ability of Palestinians to work as Israeli labor, especially in Jerusalem has resulted in complete poverty. It has resulted in bread riots, which is an alarming signal of an explosive situation
Q: What is the role of the international community?
A: There is only one superpower in the world today that deals with a double standard. There is no justice in international decision-making. As Palestinians, we feel this injustice.
