World Bank warns of Israel-Palestinian unrest due to unsustainable status quo

PLO Sec-Gen slams Obama for not mentioning Israeli-Palestinian conflict in UN speech

 

The World Bank warned of the “high risk” of renewed Israel-Palestinian conflict if the political and economic status quo between the two sides persists, in a report released Tuesday.

 

“The persistence of this situation could potentially lead to political and social unrest,” it said.

 

“In short, the status quo is not sustainable and downside risks of further conflict and social unrest are high,” said the World Bank.

 

The percentage of the population living under the poverty line has reached 39 percent in Gaza and 16 percent in the West Bank.

 

It said the “Palestinians are getting poorer on average for the third year in a row. Donor support has significantly declined in recent years,” especially for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

 

While the report hailed the “very good progress” made by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in reducing its fiscal deficit, it also criticized disproportionately high wages of PA officials.

 

“The reduction of the wage bill, which could lead to large savings of up to 5 percentage points of GDP, is a top priority,” the report said.

 

In addition, the PA should put more effort into improving revenue collection, and pressing forward on the reforms in health and electricity sectors,” it added.

 

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