New UN report paints a picture of the devastation of the collapsing Palestinian economy
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A new U.N. report paints a stark picture of the collapsing Palestinian economy after a month of war and Israel’s near total siege of Gaza. The gross domestic product shrank 4% in the West Bank and Gaza in the war’s first month, sending over 400,000 people into poverty — an economic impact unseen in the conflicts Syria and Ukraine, or any previous Israel-Hamas war, two U.N. agencies said in a rapid assessment of economic consequences of the Gaza war released Thursday. If the conflict lasts until the end of the year, the UN projects that Palestinian GDP will drop by 12%, with losses of $2.5 billion and more than 660,000 people pushed into poverty.