Nearly 20 years of development progress could be wiped out in the
Occupied Palestine Territories if the conflict between Israel and
Hamas continues for a second full month, according to a UN report
published on Thursday.
The assessment by
the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic
and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) looks at preliminary
socio-economic impacts, warning that poverty could spike while
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could plummet by 8.4 per cent, which
translates into a loss of $1.7 billion.
Lamenting the loss of life, suffering and ongoing destruction,
the UN agencies underscored the need for a ceasefire and
sustained flow of humanitarian aid as a critical first step.
Rising poverty, unprecedented destruction
Although the conflict is occurring in Gaza, spillover effects are
being felt in the West Bank and also in Lebanon, Jordan and
Egypt.
Some 1.8 million people across the State of Palestine were
already living in poverty before hostilities erupted on 7
October. The figure could soar by 34 per cent if fighting
continues through a second month, meaning that nearly half a
million additional people will be joining them.
Nowhere to go
Already 35,000 housing units in Gaza have been totally
demolished, and around 212,000 partially damaged, which the
agencies said is unprecedented. For
comparison, it took four years of fighting in Syria
to lose the same percentage of housing stock.
Gaza has a population of over two million and nearly 1.5 million
residents are now internally displaced.
“If this war persists, the majority of Gaza’s
population might find themselves with nowhere to go, to call
home, or to stay,” said Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary
at ESCWA, which is based in Beirut.
She added that a “horrifying” 96 per cent of Gazans now face
unprecedented deprivation of all essential services and have
fallen into what is known as multidimensional poverty.
GDP and jobs losses
Furthermore, the overall Palestine economy has lost four per cent
of GDP in just one month, while 390,000 jobs have
evaporated, said Abdallah Al Dardari, UNDP Assistant
Secretary-General and Director of its Regional Bureau for Arab
States.
Forty-five per cent of UNDP projects in Gaza have already been
destroyed, he added. Health centres, solar power stations,
water treatment plants, and centres that offer support for the
private sector, small business and women are now gone.
“Even more important, if I may say, is the loss of human
development,” he continued.
“After two months of fighting, Palestine, and not just Gaza,
would have lost 16 years of human development, health and
education and infrastructure and economic growth that would be
wiped out. Palestine would go back to
2005.”
Slow road to recovery
Given the widespread displacement in Gaza since the beginning of
the war, and the massive destruction of houses reportedly
destroyed or damaged, the report predicts that the economic
downturn will further exacerbate the catastrophic humanitarian
situation and make recovery prospects challenging and slow.
Ms. Dashti urged the international community to unite and broker
lasting peace.
“History teaches us that without sustainable peace, all
stakeholders in this conflict will not only suffer more loss of
lives in the future but their prospects for sustainable
development meant will also be jeopardized and their hard-won
gains of economic prosperity and social empowerment will be
eroded,” she said.
