UNCTAD’s report on assistance to the Palestinian people states that Gaza could become uninhabitable by 2020 if current economic trends persist. In addition to eight years of economic blockade, in the past six years, Gaza has endured three military operations that have shattered its ability to export and produce for the domestic market, ravaged its already debilitated infrastructure, left no time for reconstruction and economic recovery, and accelerated the de-development of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, a process by which development is not merely hindered but reversed.
The report highlights the severe crises in Gaza related to water and electricity, as well as the destruction of vital infrastructure during the military operations in July and August 2014. For example, Gaza’s 1.8 million inhabitants rely on coastal aquifers as their main source of freshwater, yet 95 per cent of this water is not safe to drink.
The report also estimates the direct losses (excluding people killed) of the three military operations that took place from 2008 to 2014 to be close to three times the size of Gaza’s local gross domestic product. However, the total cost may be substantially higher once indirect economic losses are included and lost future income streams from destroyed productive capacities are added.
Press Release
http://unctad.org/en/pages/PressRelease.aspx?OriginalVersionID=260
Full Report - 18 pages
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tdb62d3_en.pdf
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