Region | Palestinian Territories
Aid to Palestinians having little effect - World Bank
Billions of aid dollars pledged to Palestinians to strengthen peace talks with Israel are having a muted economic impact because of Israeli restrictions on travel and trade, the World Bank said on Sunday.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:38 April 27, 2008
Occupied Jerusalem: Billions of aid dollars pledged to Palestinians to strengthen peace talks with Israel are having a muted economic impact because of Israeli restrictions on travel and trade, the World Bank said on Sunday.
The lending agency told donor nations in a report that per capita income in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 2008 would be static, if not lower, despite the $7.7 billion in aid pledged to Palestinians in December.
The World Bank said modest gains in economic growth in the West Bank, where Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas's government holds sway, were not sufficient to offset the "severe contraction" seen in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Israel tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip after the Islamist group's takeover in June from more secular Fatah forces loyal to Abbas.
The bank said in the report, "While the PA (Palestinian Authority) has moved ahead with its economic reforms, albeit slowly, there has been little progress on relaxing movement and access constraints."
The World Bank said the impact of these restrictions, including hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, "cannot be overestimated".
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