Datanomics: Gaza trapped in poverty as Donald Trump opens peace panel

India has been invited to join the proposed Gaza Peace Board as the Israel-Palestine conflict devastates Gaza and the West Bank, with collapsing incomes, rising poverty and record unemployment

India has been invited to the proposed Board of Peace for Gaza, an initiative by US President Donald Trump to provide a governance structure in the conflict-torn Gaza Strip. The Israel-Palestine conflict has seen a number of peace initiatives, such as Armistice Agreements, Camp David Accords, Oslo Accords, Wye River agreements, Abbas Peace Plan, and Trump Plan of 2020. However, the conflict never ended, though there were with some breathers. 

Significant drop in per capita GDP 

The Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and retaliatory actions by Israel have broken the backbone of Palestine’s economy, comprising the West Bank (governed by the Palestinian Authority) and the Gaza Strip (governed by Hamas). The per capita GDP of the Gaza Strip nosedived to $161 in 2024, down from $970 in the previous year. The per capita income in 2015 was $1,760. 

 

Drastic increase in poverty

 

More than half of the population in the Gaza Strip was in poverty even in 2017, much before the conflict of 2023. The West Bank was in a much better position, but the recent conflict might also have aggravated the conditions there. 

 

Unemployment rose in West Bank

 

As many as 45.8 per cent of the population, aged over 15 years, was unemployed in the Gaza Strip in 2023, slightly higher rate than the 45.3 per cent the previous year. The West Bank, where unemployment was not so high, also witnessed a jobless rate of 31.4 per cent in 2024 against 18.3 per cent the previous year.