Israeli siege has cost Gaza $17 billion in losses since 2007: UN
Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report that Israel’s prolonged blockade of the Gaza Strip and the regime’s military operations against the Palestinian enclave had inflicted some $17 billion in losses between 2007 and 2018.
Richard Kozul-Wright, the director of UNCTAD’s globalization and development strategies, said that it was extremely difficult to see anything, but de-development being the fate of the Gazan society.
The Israeli regime has placed the Gaza Strip under a tight blockade since 2007 and waged three wars on it since 2008.
The blockade and military operations had driven the poverty rate in Gaza to increase almost fourfold compared with normal conditions.
According to the UNCATD report, Gaza has witnessed one of the worst economic performances globally. In addition to killing and maiming thousands of Gazans during the wars, Israeli forces also bombed civilian infrastructure as well as thousands of factories and businesses.
UNCTAD says its estimates are partial because they cover only the economic cost of the Israeli occupation from the prolonged closure and recurrent military operations in Gaza from 2007 to 2018.
Experts say the Israeli regime must be held accountable for its illegal policies against the Palestinian people.
Observers say that for Gaza’s economy to slightly recover the blockade must be fully lifted.
According to UN figures, the Israeli regime is responsible for the near-collapse of Gaza’s regional economy and its isolation from the Palestinian economy and rest of the world.
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