Fifty years have passed since Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem — five decades of de-development, suppressed human potential and denial of the right to development, with an economy incapable of employing one third of its workforce and featuring extremely high unemployment among women and youth.
In 2016, the Occupied Palestinian Territory witnessed deteriorating humanitarian conditions, decreasing donor support and the continuation of the restrictive measures imposed under the occupation. Israel accelerated settlement expansion in violation of Security Council resolution 2334.
The international community should assume its responsibility to support the Palestinian people to withstand the adversities of prolonged occupation.
UNCTAD successfully delivered technical cooperation, training and advisory services to the Palestinian people, and completed a project on developing Palestinian trade facilitation capacity.
Additional resources are required for UNCTAD to assess and report on the economic costs of the Israeli occupation, as requested in General Assembly resolutions 69/20, 70/12 and 71/20, and to upgrade Palestinian capacities for public financial management.
