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`Israeli checkpoints hurt both sides'

Conal Urquhart

Restrictions are devastating, says the World Bank. Prosperity could help.

ISRAEL'S SYSTEM of controls on the Palestinian territories is preventing a revival of the Palestinian economy and damaging Israel's security, according to a report published by the World Bank on Wednesday. The report finds that freedom of movement for Palestinians is the exception rather than the norm, in spite of a series of commitments by Israel to ensure the opposite.

David Craig, the World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza, said the army's restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza had devastated the Palestinian economy. "The restriction system has caused a rise in transaction costs, making Palestinian goods increasingly uncompetitive. Even more importantly, the system has created such a high level of uncertainty and inefficiency that the normal conduct of business in the West Bank has become exceedingly difficult and investment has been stymied." The report says that both societies would benefit from Palestinian prosperity, which it says would lead to a decrease in violence.

The report describes the array of restrictions imposed on every Palestinian. As well as the physical barriers, Israel limits freedom through the use of administrative practices and permit policies which prevent Palestinians from moving home, getting work, investing in business and moving outside their immediate locality.

It says that the restrictions on Palestinians must be eased if their economy is to improve. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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