The 52% of businesses in the northern West Bank, especially in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, have closed or reduced their operations, the analyst explained.
Afana warned of the loss of some 200,000 jobs in the occupied territories, affecting one million Palestinians who depended on those incomes. He also criticized the decision by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to withhold taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian National Authority, a situation that has caused a severe financial crisis for the latter.
This situation has led to the non-payment of public sector salaries and has caused debts to suppliers to skyrocket, he emphasized. Regarding the consequences of the aggression against Iran, the expert noted that the fuel crisis and its high prices have a significant impact on all aspects of daily Palestinian life.
Earlier this year, the General Federation of Trade Unions reported that some 550,000 Palestinians are unemployed as a result of the war launched by Israel.
Presenting the 2025 annual report, the union’s general secretary, Shaher Saad, explained that this figure represents 38% of the 1,4 million employed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Recently, the Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that Palestine’s Gross Domestic Product fell by 29% as a result of the conflict.
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