Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy

Niksic, Orhan ; Eddin, Nur Nasser ; Cali, Massimiliano

Washington, DC:World Bank

关键词: ACCOUNTING;    AGRICULTURE;    AREA;    BANKING SERVICES;    BARRIER;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-1-4648-0193-8
RP-ID  :  89370

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Restrictions on economic activity inarea C of the West Bank have been particularly detrimentalto the Palestinian economy. Area C constitutes about 61percent of the West Bank territory. Area C is richly endowedwith natural resources and it is contiguous, whereas areas Aand B are smaller territorial islands. Mobilizing the area Cpotential will help a faltering Palestinian economy. Sincearea C is where the majority of the West Bank's naturalresources laid, the impact of these restrictions on thePalestinian economy has been considerable. Thus, the key toPalestinian prosperity continues to lie in the removal ofthese restrictions with due regard for Israel'ssecurity. This report shows that rolling back therestrictions will bring substantial benefits to thePalestinian economy and can usher in a new period ofincreasing Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) andsubstantially improve prospects for sustained growth. Thisreport examines the economic benefits of lifting therestrictions on movement and access as well as otheradministrative obstacles to Palestinian investment andeconomic activity in area C. It focuses on the economicpotential of area C and does not prejudge the status of anyterritory which may be subject to negotiations betweenPalestinians and Israelis. The authors examine potentialdirect, sector-specific benefits, but also indirect benefitsrelated to improvements in physical and institutionalinfrastructure, as well as spillover effects to othersectors of the Palestinian economy. Realizing the fullpotential of such investments requires other changes as well- first, the rolling back of the movement and accessrestrictions in force outside area C, which prevent the easyexport of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists andinvestors from accessing area C; and second, further reformsby the Palestinian authority to better enable potentialinvestors to register businesses, enforce contracts, andacquire finance.