Imperialism and the Israeli state condemned Palestinians to poverty.
Written by: Ned K. on 5 November 2023
In his book Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine, Jeff Halper provides readers with an insight into how imperialism and the Israeli state imposed their neo-liberal economic policies on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to impoverish the Palestinian people.
Harper says that the foundation of neoliberal control was the Paris Protocol of 1994 which gave Israel control over Palestinians and customs and trade, two thirds of the Palestinian Authority's revenue and 40% of its spending. Israel since then controlled all the points of entry into Palestinian territory giving it power over Palestinian imports and exports.
Even worse, the imperialist backed Paris Protocol gave Israel control over the licensing of both industrial and commercial Palestinian enterprises, plus control over shipping and insurance agents that Palestinian businesses had to use.
By 2021 manufacturing owned by Palestinians had declined to 10% of the economy and 90% of industrial enterprises in the Occupied Territories employed less than five people.
Neoliberal "reforms" prioritized the West Bank over Gaza under attempts by Israel and western powers led by the USA and supported by the Australian Government to isolate Hamas which in 2006 was the elected government of Gaza. Israel expanded industrial zones attached to their expanding settlements on Occupied Land and used cheap Palestinian labour to serve Israeli owned businesses.
Over time, the Occupied Palestinian Territories’ economies became co-opted in to Israel's "free market" economy, itself dependent on imperialist finance capital.
By 2021 less than 1% of so-called 'development funds' from the West via Israel into the Palestinian Occupied Territories economies went to agriculture.
By 2018 unemployment in the West Bank was 31%. In Gaza unemployment was a staggering 52%!
70% of Palestinians in 2018 lived on less than $2 per day.
60% of Palestinian imports are from Israel and 80% of its exports go to Israel. So not only has Israel backed by the western powers de-developed the Palestinian Territories’ economies (that have never been strong in any event) but made them dependent on Israel.
The Israeli economy in 2021 was 60 times the size of the economies of West Bank and Gaza and with more and more land disappearing through illegal Israeli settlements, the situation in 2023 was even worse.
It is in this economic context of deliberate economic impoverishment that Hamas launched its attack on Israeli settlements north of Gaza.
Print Version - new window Email article
-----
Go back
Independence from Imperialism
People's Rights & Liberties
Community and Environment
Marxism Today
International
Articles
Adelaide Survival Day: with the masses and against the masses. |
Melbourne rallies around Invasion Day solidarity |
Survival Day demands decolonisation |
Civil defence a threat to civil liberties? Well, in a word, Yes. |
A Tale of Two Pities |
Remain firmly opposed to Zionism, anti-Semitism and all forms of racism |
The reactionaries must condemn all terrorism, including their own |
Media and CFMEU Administrators threaten rank and file fightback |
Dare to struggle, dare to win against Administrator: CFMEU Sydney Rally |
Richard Boyle: Hero not Criminal |
Unionists In SA Celebrate 140 Year Anniversary of United Trades and Labour Council |
Building industry and parliamentary squabble over how best to exploit construction workers |
Defending the CFMEU in SA |
Murdoch media’s blindness and indifference to the far-right |
Freedom for Georges Abdallah! |
Attacks on Greens MP reveal ruling class distortions and weakness |
Sacking of CFMEU rank and file reps a wake-up call for all workers |
CFMEU members defy threats to defend their union |
Attack on Construction Workers' Union Is All About Profits and Destroying Workers Collective Power |
Attack on CFMEU attacks every Australian worker |
-----