The World Bank claims the Palestinian economy can't recover unless Israel dismantles a network of obstacles it has placed in the West Bank.
The Bank, in a report published on Wednesday, has suggested that the crippled Palestinian economy would thrive if Israel stops carving up the West Bank into a dozen enclaves and restricting Palestinian access to more than half the territory in the West Bank, the AP reported.
In its main finding, the the 18-page World Bank document said closures have prevented a Palestinian economic recovery. "The system has created such a high level of uncertainty and inefficiency that the normal conduct of business in the West Bank has become exceedingly difficult and investment has been stymied,'' said David Craig, the World Bank's director for the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "Restoring sustainable Palestinian economic growth is dependent on its (the system's) dismantling."
Israel's web of physical and administrative barriers to movement goes at times beyond security and is aimed at boosting Jewish settlements, at the expense of the Palestinian population, the report noted.
