The cost of occupation: How Palestine's economy has been pushed to the brink

Since October 2023, entire industries in Gaza have been wiped out and poverty has increased. In the occupied West Bank, businesses are struggling amid settler violence and increasing restrictions on movement. After the Gaza war began, Israel suspended most work permits for Palestinians in the country. It also withheld billions of dollars in tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, leaving public sector workers to receive only a fraction of their salaries. The Israeli government has also repeatedly threatened to sever the banking arrangement that connects Palestinian financial institutions to the global economy. But the war has only accelerated decades of policies that left the Palestinian economy deeply dependent on Israel. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines how the Palestinian economy became so intertwined with Israel's financial system – and left it vulnerable to collapse. We hear from Palestinian economist Raja Khalidi and Jalal Abukhater, policy manager at digital rights group 7amleh. We also talk to Bethlehem tour guide Kamal Mukarker about what it means for Palestinians to survive in an economy that many say is being systematically strangled.