Effect of restrictions on the economy

The sweeping restrictions on freedom of movement that Israel has imposed since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada are the principal cause of deterioration of the Palestinian economy and the unprecedented increase in unemployment and poverty in the Occupied Territories.

The Israeli siege on Palestinian towns and villages in the Occupied Territories since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada has greatly hampered economic life in the Occupied Territories. The siege causes economic problems in two primary ways: residents have difficulty getting to work sites that are not near their homes, and suppliers and merchants have trouble transporting merchandise from place to place.

Closing the commercial crossing points along the West Bank's and Gaza Strip's borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in response to Palestinian attacks gravely damages Palestinian import and export trade. It also paralyzes many manufacturing processes that depend on imported materials. These effects are especially burdensome because of the Palestinian economy's great dependence on foreign trade, which comprises some eighty percent of gross domestic product. The closing of the crossing points also harms the internal trade between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The comprehensive closure that Israel imposed on the Occupied Territories at the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada caused tens of thousands of Palestinians to lose their jobs in Israel. Before the intifada, 110,000 Palestinians worked in Israel and the settlements, comprising twenty-two percent of the Palestinian workforce in the Occupied Territories. The number of Palestinians entering Israel to work has varied from time to time, depending on the amount of permits that Israel grants and the degree to which the closure is enforced. But this number is very small in comparison to the number of Palestinians who were employed in Israel prior to the intifada.

Israel’s restrictions on the movement of workers and merchandise in the Occupied Territories are generally sweeping and unlimited in time, leading to the grave consequences suffered by the local population described above. Israel’s policy violates a number of rights that Israel is obligated to respect pursuant to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These include the right to an opportunity to make a living, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to adequate food, clothing and housing, and the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.