The Economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Westview Special Studies
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About the Book and Author
The creation of Israel called for the realignment of the West Bank and Gaza Strip economies with those of Jordan and Egypt. Subsequent conflicts have fostered economic uncertainties associated with occupation status, making investment in various sectors unattractive and hampering the prospects for development. Land expropriation, the growing number of Jewish settlements, and restrictions on the tapping of water resources have all retarded agricultural potential. Investment in industry is deemed risky, municipal services have barely kept pace with population growth, and tourism income has diminished. Dr. Gharaibeh examines how political developments and the course of the Arab-Israeli dispute will determine the future economic status of the area, providing extensive data from both Israeli and Jordanian sources.
Dr. Fawzi Gharaibeh is professor and dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at the University of Jordan.
The Economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Fawzi A. Gharaibeh
First published 1985 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published 2019 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gharybah, Fawz.
The economies of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(Westview special studies on the Middle East)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. West Bank--Economic conditions. 2. Ghaza-
Economic conditions. 3. Israel--Economic policy.
4. Israel-Arab War, 1967--Occupied territories.
I. Title. II. Series.
HC415 .25 .Z7W473 1985 330 .95695 84-19541
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29161-7 (hbk)
This study is an examination of the performance of the economy of the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the Israeli occupation of the two territories in 1967. The economy of these territories has been greatly influenced by a host of factors that are either inherent in the occupation status or have been created by deliberate Israeli policies. The net effect of these forces is assessed in order to diagnose the problems faced by the economy of the occupied territories and to discern future prospects under different sets of alternatives.
Data on economic activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have, by necessity, come for the most part from Israeli sources. Reliance on Israeli statistics might be considered a shortcoming in any study of this sort. Israel, as an occupying power, may have a vested interest in portraying the economy of the territories as being blessed by the links that have been established with the more advanced Israeli economy. Therefore, caution is called for when dealing with Israeli published figures on the economy of the occupied territories. Another shortcoming is that data on Arab Jerusalem are not published in West Bank statistics, but are rather buried with those of Israel.
I am indebted to various Jordanian government agencies and departments for their help and cooperation. Among these are the Department of Statistics, the Economics Department of the Royal Scientific Society, Cities and villages Development Bank, Jordan Cooperative Organization, Industrial Development Bank, Central Bank of Jordan, Agricultural Credit Corporation, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Occupied Territories Affairs. The University of Jordan was generous in its moral and material support, for which I am grateful.
I owe a special debt to the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and its staff for their help and hospitality and ANERA and its President Dr. Peter Gubser for his stimulating ideas and for providing me with valuable material. I also wish to thank Michael H. Van Dusen of the staff of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee; John Vista of Amideast; Ann Lesch of the Ford Foundation; Professor Michael Hudson of the Center for Arab Contemporary Studies at Georgetown University; Merle Thorpe, Jr., Jerome Fried, Dr. Abel Salam Majali, President, Or. Kamel Abu Jaber, Professor of Political Science, and Professor Adnan Bakhit, Dean of Research, all at the University of Jordan; Dr. Bassam Saket, Director General of the Jordan Pension Fund; and Dr. Fuad Bseisso.
Fawzi A. Gharaibeh
Amman
1
Introduction
The geography and history of the West Bank and Gaza Strip suggest many of the hindrances and difficulties that presently beset their respective economies. The West Bank consists of around 5,700 square kilometers and borders Israel on the north, west, and south, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the east. It is entirely landlocked, and its trade routes must pass through neighboring territories. The terrain is hilly in the north and near Jerusalem, and below sea level in a narrow belt in the Jordan Valley. The Gaza Strip, separated from the West Bank by Israeli territory, has a common border with Israel on the north and east, and with Egypt on the south. The Sinai Peninsula isolates the Strip from Egyptian population centers in the Suez Canal zone, some 200 kilometers away. The area of the Gaza Strip is less than 400 square kilometers and constitutes a narrow area on the southernmost coast line of the Mediterranean.
