Gaza offensive may cost Palestinians four billion dlrs: UN

Tue Sep 8, 2:10 pm ET

GENEVA (AFP) – The Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December and January caused four billion dollars of losses to the Palestinian economy, a UN think tank said Tuesday.

Overall, the losses represent "three times the size of the Gaza economy," said Mahmud Elkhafif, coordinator of the UN Conference and Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) assistance programme for the Palestinians.

"Initial estimates put the economy's direct and indirect losses at around four billion dollars (2.8 billion euros), including the costs associated with cushioning the humanitarian impact of the military campaign of around one billion dollars," UNCTAD said in a report.

Some 88 million dollars was wiped off GDP due to the halt in economic activity alone in Gaza, it said.

Direct losses, including damage to infrastructure, public buildings, power and water supplies, as well as lost raw material stocks could reach 2.5 billion dollars, it added.

The losses in Gaza came after "another lost year for Palestinian development" in 2008 as the overall Palestinian economy lost ground for the ninth straight year, according to UNCTAD.

Although real gross domestic product was in positive territory with two percent growth, GDP per head fell by 1.2 percent, it added.

"The continued isolation of the occupied Palestinian territory under a tight Israeli closure policy and blockade of Gaza has further fragmented the economy," the report said.

The report noted that the closures "deepened Palestinian economic dependence on Israel."

Elkhafif said agriculture and industry "are basically shrinking" in Gaza, where about 90 percent of the population live in poverty.

"The only sectors that are employing are the government, public administration and services," he added.

The report noted that most of the 4.5 billion dollars in international pledges made in March for Palestinian reconstruction have yet to be paid out, as most donors had conditioned them on "Palestinian political developments."

Israel's military operation "Cast Lead" in late December 2008 and January 2009, which led to more than 1,400 deaths in Gaza including hundreds of civilians, was officially aimed at ending the firing of rockets from the coastal strip.