Nablus - "Jerusalem" dot com - Imad Saadeh - The Human Rights and Democracy Media Center (Shams) said that the main cause of poverty in the occupied Palestinian territories is the continuation of the Israeli occupation , and the inability of the Palestinian people to determine their own destiny, and to exploit their natural resources, especially in the designated lands (C), which led to the dependence of the Palestinian economy on the Israeli economy.

In a statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty , "Shams" explained that the occupation forces have deliberately, throughout the years of occupation, annexed the Palestinian economy to the Israeli economy as a follower of it, so that the West Bank and Gaza Strip have turned into a market for Israeli products and a source of cheap labor, and the occupied territories have become It is the second most important importer of Israeli goods after the United States of America.

He added: "The occupation policy prevented the establishment of an advanced industrial base in the Palestinian territories, and led to the distortion of the Palestinian economy, which consists mostly of small enterprises of a family and local nature."

Israel continues its destructive policy of the Palestinian economy. Beyond that, the occupying state has continued to control Palestinian commercial transactions by continuing to control the crossings and borders and restricting the movement of Palestinians between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which obstructs geographical and economic contiguity between the areas of the Palestinian National Authority.

Shams called on the United Nations and the international community to put pressure on the occupying power to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been imposed since 2007 until now, which has led to an increase in poverty, unemployment, destitution and food insecurity, reaching unprecedented levels among Palestinian citizens.

He pointed out that the occupation imposed a naval blockade on the Strip, through which it prevented fishermen from exceeding the fishing areas stipulated in the Oslo Accords, which exceed 22 nautical miles, and strengthened their pursuit and violation of their freedom to work within the area designated for fishing.

He also pointed out that unemployment in the Gaza Strip is still very high, as the unemployment rate reached 47% in the Gaza Strip compared to 14% in the West Bank. As for gender, the unemployment rate for males in Palestine reached 21% compared to 41% for females.

The number of the unemployed reached 378 thousand in the first quarter of the year 2022; By 244 thousand in the Gaza Strip and about 134 thousand in the West Bank, while poverty rates were less than 30% now exceeded by more than 60%, and the rate of food insecurity reached 79% among the population of 2.048 million people.

"Shams" stressed that the absence of a Palestinian development strategy will keep the Palestinian economy hostage to the Israeli economy, while the development process will remain stagnant, and this would increase the number of the poor.

He said: "In order to achieve comprehensive development and reach a Palestinian development model, it is necessary to address the various distortions that resulted from the occupation in the structure of the Palestinian economy, and to address the determinants and obstacles to development in general and the obstacles to human development in particular, and to identify the sectors that must be focused on in advance to know Which one should bear the burden of development so that a Palestinian development model can be found based on the pioneering sectors.”

He added: "Defining the realistic goals of the Palestinian economy by increasing the national income growth rate and achieving justice in distribution, reducing the level of unemployment by creating new job opportunities, improving the balance of payments and increasing the percentage of self-financing within the public budget."

The Center called on the Palestinian government, in order to combat poverty and reduce unemployment among youth and graduates, to provide the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the process of developing economic sectors, and to pay more attention to the countryside in general and the agricultural sector in particular.

He also demanded that it pay attention to the industrial sector through the use of the industrialization strategy for the sake of industrialization, and pay attention to the education and vocational training sector, taking into account the rationing of education, and pay attention to the culture and media sector because of its great impact in changing the prevailing awareness pattern, and preparing the general climate for the development process, and focusing and attention on establishing Chain projects rather than creating scattered projects.