The economy of Egypt used to be a highly centralized economy, focused on import substitution under president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1954–1970). During the rule of president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2014–present), the economy follows Egypt's 2030 Vision. The policy is aimed at diversifying Egypt's economy. The country's economy is the second largest in Africa by nominal GDP, and 42nd in worldwide ranking as of 2024.
The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a small, densely populated territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and have been constructed on lands that Israel has militarily occupied since the Six-Day War in 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this. In 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's occupation was illegal and ruled that Israel had "an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers" from the occupied territories. The expansion of settlements often involves the confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to displacement of Palestinian communities and creating a source of tension and conflict. Settlements are often protected by the Israeli military and are frequently flashpoints for violence against Palestinians. Furthermore, the presence of settlements and Jewish-only bypass roads creates a fragmented Palestinian territory, seriously hindering economic development and freedom of movement for Palestinians.
The West Bank, so called due to its location relative to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under illegal Israeli occupation since 1967.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security, water rights, the permit regime, Palestinian freedom of movement, and the Palestinian right of return.
The Palestinian territories, also known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory, consist of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in the southern Levant region of West Asia, encompassing the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, within the larger historic Palestine region. The country shares most of its borders with Israel, and borders Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a combined land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while its population exceeds five million people. Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem while Ramallah serves as its administrative center and Gaza City was its largest city until 2023.
Qalqilya or Qalqiliya is a Palestinian city in the West Bank which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate. In the 2017 census, the city had a population of 51,683. Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank wall, with a narrow gap in the east controlled by the Israeli military and a tunnel to the Palestinian town of Hableh. Qalqilya is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority, while remaining under Israeli military occupation. Oranges are a major part of the city's economy.
The 1949 Armistice Agreements, which ended the 1948 Arab–Israeli War by delineating the Green Line as the legal boundary between Israel and the Arab countries, left the Kingdom of Egypt in control of a small swath of territory that it had captured and occupied in the former British Mandate for Palestine: the Gaza Strip. This period saw the creation of the All-Palestine Government within the All-Palestine Protectorate, an Egyptian client state that lasted until 1959, a year after the Republic of Egypt and the Second Syrian Republic merged to form a single sovereign state known as the United Arab Republic. The Egyptian administration of the Gaza Strip was briefly subsumed by Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis and ended entirely during the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, after which the territory became occupied by Israel with the establishment of the Israeli Military Governorate.
The economy of the State of Palestine refers to the economic activity of the State of Palestine. Palestine receives substantial financial aid from international donors, including governments and international organizations. In 2020, the inflation rate of -0.7% and unemployment rate was 25.9%. While exports were recorded at US$ 1 billion, with an import value of US$ 6 billion. Contributors to the national economy is service sector (47%), wholesale and repair (19%), manufacturing (12%), agriculture (7%), finance and banking (3%), construction (5%), information technology (5%) and transportation sector (2%).
Agriculture in Israel is a highly developed industry. Israel is an exporter of fresh produce and a leader in agricultural technologies. The southern one-half of Israel is desert and irrigation is required for growing crops. The northern one-half is more conducive to rain-fed agriculture. According to the World Bank, 29.7 percent of Israel is agricultural land. The shortage of water is a constraint. In 2008, agriculture represented 2.5% of total GDP and 3.6% of exports. Israel is not self-sufficient in growing food. In 2021, Israel's agricultural imports totaled 8,791 million and agricultural exports totaled 2,445 million dollars. Grains, oilseeds, meat, coffee, cocoa, and sugar were among the imports.
A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip since Hamas's takeover in 2007, led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment, as it restricts the flow of essential goods, contributes to economic hardship, and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison".
The economy of the Gaza Strip was dependent on small industries and agriculture. After years of decline, the Gaza economy experienced some growth in the late 2000s, boosted by foreign aid. According to the International Monetary Fund, the economy grew 20 percent in 2011, and the per capita gross domestic product increased by 19 percent.
The lives of Palestinian women have transformed throughout many historical changes including Ottoman control, the British Mandate, and Israeli control. The founding of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964 and the later establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 also played a role in redefining the roles of women in Palestine and across the Palestinian diaspora. Arab women have been involved in resistance movements in Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century.
Restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by Israel is an issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to B'Tselem, following the 1967 war, the occupied territories were proclaimed closed military zones. In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of those territories to move freely between the West Bank, Israel and the Gaza Strip. Following the First Intifada by 1991, the general exit orders were revoked, and personal exit permits were required. According to B'Tselem, a measure of overall closure of the territories was enacted for the first time in 1993, and would result in total closures following rises in Palestinian political violence.
According to a study done by the National Work to Fight Desertification program, over 60 percent of the land in Lebanon is at risk of desertification. According to The World Bank, the country's arable land, having reached 23.5% of the country's territory during the years 1971–1973, fell to 11.1% in 2010 and, as of 2021, had risen to just 13.6%. Lebanon's land desertification spreads 60 kilometers, beginning at the edge of the city Baalbek and continuing to its border with Syria. Most studies on desertification in Lebanon have concluded that the area of northern Bekaa is the region most affected by this environmental issue.
Israel–Palestine relations refers to the political, security, economical and other relations between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. Israel and the PLO began to engage in the late 1980s and early 1990s in what became the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, culminated with the Oslo Accords in 1993. Shortly after, the Palestinian National Authority was established and during the next 6 years formed a network of economic and security connections with Israel, being referred to as a fully autonomous region with self-administration. In the year 2000, the relations severely deteriorated with the eruption of the Al-Aqsa Intifada – a rapid escalation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The events calmed down in 2005, with reconciliation and cease fire. The situation became more complicated with the split of the Palestinian Authority in 2007, the violent split of Fatah and Hamas factions, and Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas takeover resulted in a complete rift between Israel and the Palestinian faction in the Gaza Strip, cancelling all relations except limited humanitarian supply.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily occupied territory has been affirmed by the International Court of Justice and, with the exception of East Jerusalem, by the Israeli Supreme Court. The official view of the Israeli government is that the laws of belligerent occupation do not apply to the territories, which it considers instead "disputed", and it administers the West Bank, excepting East Jerusalem, under the Israeli Civil Administration, a branch of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Considered to be a classic example of an "intractable conflict", the length of Israel's occupation was already regarded as exceptional after two decades, and is now the longest in modern history. Israel has cited several reasons for retaining the West Bank within its ambit: a claim based on the notion of historic rights to this as a homeland as claimed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; security grounds, both internal and external; and the deep symbolic value for Jews of the area occupied. The International Court of Justice has rejected the Israeli view that the territory is not occupied and has found that Israel's "continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful".
The Israel–Hamas war has significant economic implications. The number of Palestinians living in poverty has surged dramatically, with an additional 300,000 people falling into poverty by November 2023. The war caused a severe economic downturn, with employment in the Gaza Strip plummeting by 61% and the West Bank by 24% between October and November 2023. By March 2024, unemployment in the Palestinian Territories had soared to 57%, resulting in 500,000 job losses.
The history of agriculture in Palestine dates back to 8000 BCE and some of the earliest agricultural settlements in the world. Several of the crops grown by the earliest farmers continued to be important throughout the long history of Palestinian agriculture. In the 19th century CE the Ottoman Empire discouraged, with limited success, the long-standing communal land system called musha'a practiced by the Palestinian Arab farmers living in the highlands. Wheat and barley were their most important crops and were grown primarily for subsistence rather than the commercial market. Olives are an important traditional crop. In the late 19th century Palestinians began to grow commercial and export crops such as citrus in the lowlands near the Mediterranean Sea coast. Large landowners, both resident and non-resident, owned a large part of the land, especially near the coast.
