Stagnation or Revival : Israeli Disengagement and Palestinian Economic Prospects
The World Bank's June 23 report, "Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements," warns of the potential disintegration of the Palestinian economy under the sustained pressures of conflict and Israeli closure policies--a...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2013
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/12/6074645/stagnation-or-revival-israeli-disengagement-palestinian-economic-prospects http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14409 |
| Summary: | The World Bank's June 23 report,
"Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the
Settlements," warns of the potential disintegration of
the Palestinian economy under the sustained pressures of
conflict and Israeli closure policies--a situation which is
potentially ruinous for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Currently there is hope that the Israeli and Palestinian
governments are once again ready to discuss their shared
future. At this juncture, it is vital that policy-makers
focus on stabilizing and reviving the economy as part of any
new political process. While money, and in particular donor
money, has an important role to play, the underlying causes
of economic decline need to be addressed. For a recovery to
take place, the Government of Israel needs to roll back the
system of restrictions on the movement of people and goods
imposed since the beginning of the intifada - it is these
various closure measures that are the proximate cause of
four years of Palestinian economic distress. The Government
of Israel has given encouraging signs of a willingness to
reform the management of border gateways, to enable a much
faster and more reliable throughput of cargo and people. For
its part, the Palestinian Authority faces two sets of
challenges if it is to play its part in bringing about
revival. First is the need to demonstrate strong commitment
to security reform, politically risky though this may be.
The PA also needs to reinvigorate its program of governance
reforms in order to create an internal environment more
attractive to private investors. Chapter Six lays out an
agenda of actions that the Bank believes would lay the basis
for economic regeneration. It is further proposed that the
donor community track progress by the parties in tackling
these key preconditions for economic revival. If significant
progress is made against a set of agreed indicators, a major
new donor effort would then be justified - and a donor
pledging conference should be called. |
|---|