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Gaza Has Grown Completely Reliant on Outside Aid

(Ha'aretz) David Rosenberg - Hamas is responsible for Gaza's economic woes by sacrificing everything for the cause of armed confrontation with Israel. But that is a policy that at least a plurality of Palestinians say they support. It would be accurate to call Gaza the world's biggest soup kitchen. There's very little ordinary economic activity in Gaza - people growing and manufacturing things or providing services. 25 years ago, manufacturing accounted for 16% of its gross domestic product and agriculture another 11%; today the figures are 8% and 5%. The only growth industry is the public sector, which expanded from 12% of GDP to 29%, most of it make-work. International aid and remittances are today about the only source of foreign exchange for Gaza. According to the World Bank, 79% of all Gazans received some kind of international aid in 2017. Even among the wealthiest 20%, nearly half received assistance. Hamas did what you'd expect from any ruling group with access to free money, which is to take it.
2019-03-19 00:00:00
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