Palestine – 2020 has drained the economy of Gaza in all respects

The Public Relations and Media Manager at the Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Maher Tabbaa, stated that the year 2020 has been a devastating year for all economic rates in Gaza, mainly as covid worsened the economic crisis. In the third quarter of the year, rates of Unemployment increased to 49%, as the number of jobless surpassed 208,000 people, and the poverty rate among the population grew upto 53% according to actual consumption trends and the extreme poverty rate hit 33.8%. The President of the Businessmen and Industries Association, Ali Al-Hayek, estimates that the downturn will persist throughout 2021 considering the aforementioned indicators and the lack of any political option on the horizon in terms of Palestinian reconciliation and that the persistence of the pandemic and its interventions will negatively effect on the economy.

A24