Economic And Social Policy

Sustained positive economic development in the Palestinian Territories is indispensable for state building and stability in the region. However, the absence of a transportation route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as roughly 80 checkpoints inside the West Bank and at the border crossings to Israel severely hinder the free movement of goods and people. Other obstacles such as the West Bank Barrier, closures, roadblocks, trenches and earth mounds further restrict movement. Not only within the Palestinian Territories, but also economic activity between the Palestinian Territories and other nations is obstructed because the PNA has no sovereignty over borders. These restrictions coupled with continuous threats to law and order have rendered the West Bank and Gaza largely unfit for long-term investment.

Boycott and isolation of the Palestinian National Authority has significantly weakened the economic and social situation in the West Bank and Gaza. Taxes and customs collected by Israel on behalf of the PNA were not transferred from March 2006 until July 2007. It remains to be seen whether or not the dispersal of this revenue will continue reliably. In light of this, the work of the FES in the economic policy field has changed drastically. In cooperation with the partner organization Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the FES tackles central economic issues such as strategies for combating unemployment. The FES and MAS organized a joint conference in Ramallah on this issue in the fall of 2006. The FES also supports the Palestinian think tank as it collects statistical data on the economic climate and development of a macroeconomic model that can serve as a tool for goal-oriented economic policy. The options for concrete cooperation with Palestinian trade unions is currently the subject of a cooperative analytical study in conjunction with MAS and presented in the study "Policies to Improve the Labour Movement‘s Participation in Public Policy Making" (in Arabic).