the economy of the west bank in israel as a result of the on the side of war is still of suffering from lack of economic activity or low economic activity. many stores uh are still uh closed tourism at record low levels and lack of workers top of everything else is playing the economy. whether there's a chance for the palestinians to get back on their feet over israel's economy to get jump started is the subject of this edition of economic divide. coming up in this program: palestine's economy. first we're going to take a look at the gdp decrease. for the

fourth quarter minus 33%, then uh the west bank gdp that was a low of minus 20 2%. so uh, there is obvious concern there, of unemployment plus 30%, another concern for the economy of palestine. consumer price increases in the west bank is also a source of concern, lower incomes, supply chain bottlenecks and transport costs are some of the factors. then we're going to take a look at israel's banks and uh their credits, well five of them have been downgraded, the higher borrowing costs based on uh the moodi's credit downgrading them, and also these higher prices are passed to the consumers.

"israel's genocidal war on the gaza strip and its hostilities toward lebanon has displaced thousands of israelies inside the regime. thousands of israeli settlers have been forced to leave their towns and villages near the regime's separation line with gaza strep in the south and lebanon in the north. the northern occupied lands are primarily agriculture, along with tourist spots and tight communities with small businesses, thus the sudden unexpected and unprepared population drop has shocked the economy. in november, the bank of israel estimated the absence. at work of 144,00 evacuated settlers, about 40% of whom fled the north, had cost israel's economy about 590 million checkles or $158 million dollar each week. entire businesses, farms and even wineries have been abandoned. some figures estimate that as many as thousands of businesses are closed. on the agricultural front, products

that take precious months to nurture and develop will now grow stale and rot. time now to take a look at some of the social media posts. first up the lives of palestinians in the west bank and in the gaza strip are only controlled by the pa and hamas up to point and a very local level. israel controls the economy, the movements and everything else in the west bank and in gaza. next, rethinking the financial infrastructure connecting gaza. "east jerusalem and the west bank to the rest of the world should be a priority to establish a functional palestinian economy. then janet says travel on commerce restrictions on the west bank in israel's interest hurting palestinian economy and raising the risk of regional conflict. this was a response, but we picked it anyways. it said also a very good question. gaza, pre-war had strong agriculture and fishing industries, strong enough to export goods to israel, the west bank, egypt, and jordan."

all right, so you can see how the gaza strip was pivotal when it came even israel's economy. time to introduce our guest for our first segment of the q&a, we have first up isabella agostinelli, she is a specialist in palestine studies who joins us. isabella augustineli, welcome to economic divide. let me come in first about the settlers and the residences on the fake border with gaza, and also of course in southern lebanon where they in have been uprooted, they're receiving help from israel uh, how... of a hit has israel's economy taken from these people being displaced? yeah, actually i believe that the greater impact on israel's economy does not come from the government's help towards the settlers, of course it has an impact, but according to an article published by the financial times and other organizations in february, the israeli economy already shrink of almost 20% in the final quarter of 20. 2000

2023 sorry and it was impacted by the war obviously against the palestinians from gaza and this impact calls in part by the call up of almost 300 thousand reservists and also by the restrictions imposed on the palestinian workers from the west bank, so the israeli economy is very dependent on the exploration of palestinian workforce, but it is also worth mentioning that the government expenditure with arms and the warfare in gaza, which is very costly, has been greater, that far greater than the help to... the israeli settlers even though israel has a strong war economy. all right, thank you for that. let me bring you our next guest uh, she is marshall baker. she is economic expert at larusch movement. marshall baker, welcome to economic divide. um, israel has been impacted in more ways than one when it comes to its

economy, from imports, exports to different sectors like the agriculture or the construction sector, but the international standing has taken a huge hit. my question to you is how badly you think that... will actually um spill over to its trade, its international standing taking such huge hit, and of course it's economy, the functioning the different sectors in economy, namely in israel, manufacturing, high-tech, agriculture, retail, none of this is normal or can be sustained, what was done in agriculture with high-tech irrigation does not have the labor from? sources, which was bad in any case to operate a country based on foreign labor, but none of this is functioning, the even the the normal water or electricity, all these kinds of factors

cannot be counted on in this situation. time now for the inf news section of the program, we're going to take a look at our first entry on bricks and the payment system, bricks to create what's called a blockchain-based payment system, other measure is in line with the group's plans to cut reliance on western currencies, in particular the us dollar and also financial mechanisms. now what is the goal is to create uh this within the bricks framework uh in order to have an independent settlement payment system, would be based on the most modern technologies such as digital currencies and blockchain. uh, this entry is making some news as we speak, it's about a us port in the gaza strip, that's what the us has proposed, um, in order to according to the us version, step up aid delivery uh to

gaza, um, it's been criticized however as a distraction. now the plan criticized as attempt to divert attention from the widening famine in the gaza strip. as israel obstructs aid operations, now our take on that is, why didn't the us help gaza when it was under a land, air and sea blockade for over 17 years, which led to deaths, malnutrition and diseases, like it is now, albeit a lower pace, all right, something to think about. next up, uh, this country is definitely going through some hard times, haiti is uh, almost on the cusp of a civil war. gangs there have succeeded in transforming their territorial control into social, economic and military domination. the year 2023 was marked by gang violence. the un recorded over uh 4,700, to be exact, 4,789 people which were murdered,

who were murdered, that is, and 2,490 officially kidnapped with homicide rate of $40.9 per 100,00 inhabitants, which is more than double that of 2022. and uh taking a look at the economy, it contracted for four consecutive years and that contraction is still continuing. next up, an important corridor for the islamic republic of iran and pakistan, news came out that iran's technical and engineering companies are prepared to contribute to a joint gas pipeline project as well as the renovation of pakistan steel mills. the completion of the gas pipeline benefits pakistan and seems to be suitable option to assist the country overcome. it's energy crisis, good news for both countries. with that we come to uh an end of our info news section. of course, we always recommend you sending us a piece of news, economy and flavor from wherever you are, we would appreciate that. contact information is coming up. this week on expos a port to be.

established in gaza and no intention of opening land borders, us president joe biden is using electoral propaganda to carry favor with the american people after his full fledged support to zianist israel, now the biden peer plan. in gaza has caused suspicion in western media indicating that although the obstruction by zinus israel remains a concern, its impact will now be evident during the distribution phase rather than the initial point of entry. also, social media users view the biyen peer plan for gaza as a dark joke, arguing that its sole purpose is to allow the zinanis occupation to continue grabbing more land and to plunder gas deposits off the coast of gaza. stay tuned for expos a, the truth. is just a revelation away section of the program, there are number

of ways that israel is controlling the palestinian economy, a practice that has been going on for decades. let's take a look at some of the ways that israel is doing that. take a look at this next uh graph here, we took some of the categories that we figure. is important and uh one of them is the palestinian resources, which comprises of land, for example, water, that's a very important one, and the next one is natural resources. now when it comes to natural resources uh, this uh is very important because some say that the onslot uh may have this uh as a reason for it to happen, and it concerns the gaza marine as you see over there, and uh this uh section that's come out here are where these uh gas fields exist, and the gas fields are and these reserves that

exist in that area, perhaps one of the reasons for uh the aggression, it's valued at $4.592 billion dollars uh, it hasn't been uh explored yet, so uh the actual amounts uh may either increase or decrease, but there are foreign companies including european ones who are helping israel loot gaza's natural gas reserves and it was in late october after theogression started. we remember is when israel announced that it had awarded concessions for natural gas exploration to these uh foreign companies, okay? now next up, let's take a look at another item that has been uh very controversial throughout the years and it's called under the israel illegal practices settlements, settlements is illegal under international law, the settlements has contributed to the negative economic movements for palestinians, for example 24,000 300 of them uh from october through december was announced and then just in march of this year 3,500 new ones were

announced, so uh this was based on the un report, the size of existing israely settlements has always expanded marketly and we can see how that has happened uh no matter who has been in the white house uh to the uh next uh item that we looked at and this is another way that israel is exercising is aparthide um practices and their home demolitions. now bas based on what has happened in the west bank from the year 2022, we looked at 55,4 or 55,48 of these home demolitions that took place, then the gaza strip, the most recent one is what we can take a look at and you can see how 300 thousand, that's 70% of the total uh structures that exists in the gaza strip have been destroyed, and that's another way that israel restricts the expansion of... the palestinian economy, the next graph shows how

the situation for the palestinian economy has become um very dire, and this came actually from the world bank in terms of the growth, the 2023 pre-conflictuh had this figure as a projection 3.2%, but then uh when uh we saw the aggression take place, that figure has been revised where the world bank has says that there will be negative 6.4% um contraction attributing this change to obviously the onslot and the overall deterioration in the west bank. okay, let's see what our guests think about this. let's bring them back. we have isabella agostanelli, specialized a specialist in palestine studies who rejoins us. welcome back to economic divide, isabellanelli. the aggression of this genocidal war is something that there are some that say that even if it means uh that it's going to at some point end, it's not going to mean that uh, it's

going to be the end of the economic uh ramifications both for israel and for the palestinians, because there's not a political solution that has been reached in the meantime, how bad do you think that will affect investors when it comes to investments in the palestine or the gaza strip? well, i honestly do not believe that investors in general will be worried about the... palestinians of course they will be worried about their uh humanity and everything, but the israeli economy is more important to the investors since israel um... gets more investments in general when we when we compare to the investment investment towards the palestinians, so the end of the world, as you notice, does not mean a true and sustainable peace, but since we are talking about a apartite regime and a military occupation, it is obviously, it is obvious

that the occupier power will recover its economy in a more rapid uh manner compared to the occupied population and economy, especially with the help of the great power, so we must um expect that the great powers will uh invest more in israel and not so much in the palestinians, the palestinians uh until today they rely so much in the humanitarian assistance, the international humanitarian assistance, but in terms of investments, um and everything, is it still very different the the investments compared to the israel? thank you for that. uh, let me bring in uh marshall baker back into the program, marshall baker, economic expert at losh movement. marshall baker, welcome back, uh, when you take a look at what's happened uh with the um onslot continuing at the pace that it is, that doesn't seem to be um an end

to it any anytime soon, but even if it does end uh there's this uh political... lack of a political solution which will compromise and continue to impact both israel and palestine economy um until there's a resolve there, how do you think things are going to turn out economically speaking? the situation for israel without an economic, diplomatic, political solution throughout the entire region is death for the nation of israel, because there is no basis for any normal trade, any norm investment, any normal education for a future. now there, the one way to look at this is the best thing for israel, which is the best thing and long do for palestinians, is there are calls for an international conference on development. the organization for islamic cooperation has a

representative at the united nations, and on march 5th that the un. the israel economy is also taking hits in other ways, banded houses, stores and other infrastructure are used by zinist forces as the security zone expands, only to become military targets for resistance to destroy, but the crisis does not stop there. israel has seen a sharp drop in imports and exports, humanism forced a crippling and very effective. in the red sea and has successfully shut down israel's third busiest port, the port of ilat. spending is also at an all-time low with credit card usage below 70% of the norm. even if the

hostilities and recovery for the israely economy would be very slow and could possibly take many years. that's because has exacerbated longstanding problems. one is the economy's reliance on low-paid palestinian workers. the west bank may import as many goods from israel as before the onslot, but as 21000- day laborers, equivalent to 5% of israel's workforce cannot get out. their permits were canceled after october 7th, and the regime is refusing to let them back in. and since israel is refusing to accept a long-term political solution that is acceptable to both. this will negatively impact investor confidence and the economy. for israel: hello and welcome to the quick take section, i'm matian in 1967 when israel continued its occupation of palestine, including al-quds, it annex palestinian markets in these areas into its own economy

a selective and unequal manner. the palestinian economy was thriving. before 1967, it generated production and significant income to sustain a growing population of 1 million people and gave rise to gdp per capita of around $1,300, making it a lower middle income economy. before the occupation, agriculture was the most important component the palestinian economy. it employed about a quarter of the labor force and contributed around a third of g and exports. since the start of the occupation, palestinians have lost access to more than 60% of the west bank and two-thirds of its grazing land. in gaza, half of the area that is uh capable of being cultivated, and 85% of the fishery resources are inaccessible to producers. palestinians have been denied access to area sea, and that

is a system by design that the israeli regime executed so it can gain the most from the occupied land. the denial of areas c to palestinians means that palestinians don't have access to area that accounts for more than 60% of the west bank and... more than two/thirds of grazing land, with more than 2.5 million productive trees destroyed under occupation since 1967. here's a graph showing decline of the palestinian gdp in their own land due to the occupation and apartite practices by the israeli regime. it is pretty obvious that there has been a declining gdp reflecting the impact of the occupation, which now with the israeli aggression against gaza, it is bound to..." worse. israel also controls the revenues of the palestinian authority, which is in control of the west bank, and that is another way, the regime controls and restricts the west bank economy.

the palestinian leakage to israel is in the range of 3.6% of its gdp, or 17% of total palestinian public revenues. if this did not happen, the pa's revenues could expand palestinian fiscal policy and increase. annual gdp by about 4% and generate 10,000 additional jobs per year. that's the end of this quick take segment. don't forget to send us your comments and questions. i'm i'll see you next week. "the situation for both the palestinian and israely economy looks grim unless there's a viable political solution, which does not seem to be on the horizon as of yet. the islamic jard actually said something

interesting, it said that even if the ontslot and aggression ends, given that the other uh onslot scenarios don't happen, the political conflict will be open-ended, meaning that the economic atmosphere will still be poisonous both in the west bank and also in israel. it's a great point that he made there. that is with this edition of the program, thanks for being with us. hope you enjoyed it uh, we did our best to bring you different aspects of rails and palestines economy. if you did or didn't, contact information is behind me, send us your comments, from me. the tire team of economic divide. it's goodbye, until the next program.

the dispute between iran and kuwait over the rs gas field grabs the headlines from time to time. but what's the whole story about? is just another tension underway in west asia. what's the significance of rh gas field? what is kuwait's position? what is tehran's position? why is saudi arabia engage in dispute out of the blue and has there been an attempt to reach deal? these and more on this edition of iran today.

information about palestine abounds on social networks, many times without context. they do not allow us to go deeper and understand all the dimensions of a catastrophe that is dragging on for centuries. daniel hadway, chilean mayor of palestinian origin, opens a window to palestine to understand in depth the present cause of the palestinian people, exploring its history and future prospects. do not miss a window to palestine.

south africa filed case at the international court of justice icj over the israeli apath regime's genocidal war against palestinians in the besieg gaza strip. south africa stated that the televive regime has failed to uphold its commitments under the 1948 genocide convention. south africa filed the locit against the israeli regime at the end of december, noting that israel's actions in gaza that started last october are genocidal character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part the palestinian. national, racial and ethnic group, we have a special guest to discuss the topic today, he is none other than south african ambassador to iran, his excellency dr. francis moloy. thank you, mr. ambassador for your time today. thank you very much for inviting me. it's a pleasure to be here.

your headlines here on press tv, hamas welcomes adoption of the gaza cease fire resolution by the un security. stressing the need for a permanent cease fire and withdrawal of israeli forces. iran says un security council of gaza's cease fire resolution is a positive but inadequate step and regime must be held accountable for its crimes. a un human rights expert says israel has committed acts of genocide in gaza and is planned to forcibly displace palestinians amounts to ethnic clansy.