Israel is strangling the West Bank’s economy

The war in Gaza has ushered in a grim new economic reality in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the West Bank. Supermarkets have hired security guards to fight off shoplifters. Thousands of businesses have closed. One official reckons the current economic crisis is worse than that caused by the covid-19 lockdowns.About 160,000 Palestinians employed in Israel and in Jewish settlements in the West Bank have had their work permits revoked since October 7th. Tens of thousands more worked in Israel illegally. Before the war their salaries pumped some 1.4bn shekels ($370m) a month into the West Bank’s economy.