Economy of The Palestinian Territories - History - East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

East Jerusalem was once the business and shopping hub of the West Bank. However since the advent of Israeli security checkpoints and the separation barrier starting over a decade ago, it has become isolated from its customer base leading to serious economic decline. According to Hanna Siniora of the Palestinian-American Chamber of Commerce, the turning point was 1993. He states that since then East Jerusalem has become a closed city through isolation from the rest of the West Bank causing a loss of 50% of its business between 1993 and 2001.

According to a 2012 report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and interviews conducted by the Forward, the decline of the economy in East Jerusalem has led to unprecedented levels of poverty, with 80% of the Palestinian population living below the poverty line. The main cause is seen as the political and physical barriers separating it from the rest of the West Bank. The ACRI report attributing the problem to “‘the cumulative effects of annexation, neglect, rights violations and the completion of the separation barrier.”

Another contributing factor to the economic decline is the housing situation. The Israeli government has facilitated extensive construction for Jewish only neighborhoods, but has severely restricted development and building for the Palestinian population.