Exclusive | Palestine Economy Portal

Translated by Tamara Barakat

During 2016, Hebron, the “dynamo” of the Palestinian economy, was placed under several closures. It is currently under an unjust siege that prompted the Palestinian government to call on international human rights organization and the international community to demand that Israel lift this siege.

Engineer Jawad Al-Sayyed, general manager of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Hebron Governorate, estimated that the economy of Hebron declined during the first few months of 2016 by around 25% in comparison with the other Palestinian governorates, and the situation is expected to worsen.

According to Al-Sayyed, the most harmed sectors were the food, sweets, clothing, and footwear sectors. They witnessed a sharp decline, especially during the shopping season.

Al-Sayyed briefed the Palestine Economy Portal on the suffering of the Palestinians living in the Hebron Governorate due to the closures and siege. This siege prevents the free movement of people and goods to and from Hebron and the rest of the cities in the West Bank, and also to from Hebron and Israel.

He explained, “A large amount of goods are transferred within Hebron, and a large number of citizens and merchants travel between the different cities and villages. Such movement heavily declined due to checkpoints and closures, and consequently merchants and citizens were forced to buy products from and exchange products with nearby stores.”

Additionally, the movement of goods between Hebron and the rest of the Palestinian governorates, and between Hebron and the 1948 Proper also decreased, negatively affecting the overall economic conditions. The economic activity in 2016 is much less than that of 2015.

Al-Sayyed affirmed that the lack of a clear political vision influenced the willingness of citizens to invest and spend their money, driving them to save it rather than invest or spend it.

He also said that Hebron could have even suffered from more economic decline had permits been issued to Palestinians during the end of Ramadan and the Eid period. However, the permits were not issued, saving the economy of Hebron from further stagnation.

Economic contributions of Hebron Governorate:

1. Contributes with 40% of Palestine’s GDP.

2. Contributes with 40% of Palestine’s exports.

3. Harbors a large number of industrial, service and commercial sectors.

4. Provides 45% of the total industrial production capacity of Palestine.

5. 50% of commerce exists in or is related to Hebron.

6. Includes 22,000 economic facilities.

7. Contributes with a third of animal production in the West Bank,

8. Palestine’s largest exporters and importers are from Hebron.