Palestinians Lose 7 Billion Dollars Annually to Israel

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Israel occupying the Palestinian lands in1967 falls under the pretext of security which usually states the occupation is strongly associated with the "historical facts" of the land. Scientific research proved that the occupation confiscates most of the Palestinian resources, which cause Palestinians losses reaching $7 billion a year.The Palestinian Ministry of Economics published its first scientific account of the annual losses caused by the Israeli Occupation and its restrictions.The report showed that the Palestinian economy makes $4 billion, but it would be doubled if Israel ended the occupation of 1967 lands. In a conference, the Minister of Economics said that the occupation is the main obstacle in developing a sustainable Palestinian national economy. Without the occupation, the Palestinian Authority would have a financial surplus and no need for international donors’ assistance.According to the report, the Palestinians lost $ 1.9 billion as a result of the Israeli blockade on Gaza and another $1.9 billion because of the restriction on the water sector. While $1.8 billion is lost as a result of the restrictions on natural resources, $1.2 billion is lost from restrictions on Gaza import and export, uprooting trees, travelling, and preventing using the Dead Sea products.In addition, the director of the Palestinian Research Institute (ARIJ) said if the Occupation ceased to exist, PA would use the money to end its dependence on international aid. He added the main reason Israel occupies the lands of 1967 is to seize Palestinian resources.The report added, Israel prevents the Palestinians from using their natural resources, for example; it takes 10 times more than its needs from the groundwater of the West Bank, and about 60 percent of the Jordan river water while the Palestinians take nothing. /129