Exclusive - The Palestinian Economy in 2025: A Year of Accumulated Crises

SadaNews - By the end of 2025, the Palestinian economy faces a real assessment point after a year full of economic and political challenges.

Regarding the performance of the Palestinian economy during the year, economic expert Maher Al-Tabaa stated in an interview with SadaNews: "The performance of the Palestinian economy has witnessed a significant decline this year due to the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip for the past two years, in addition to Israeli assaults and restrictions imposed on the West Bank, such as checkpoints and raids that have affected Palestinian cities and villages."

Al-Tabaa pointed out that this year "is considered one of the most difficult years due to the significant decline in grants provided to the Palestinian Authority and a drop in revenues, which led to the Authority's inability to meet its financial obligations."

Regarding the most affected sectors and groups, he added to SadaNews: "One of the most prominent issues that affected the Palestinian economy was the delay in paying employees' salaries and not paying them in full, which negatively impacted the purchasing power of citizens and led to a decrease in consumption levels and sales among suppliers."

Al-Tabaa also explained that "the Gaza Strip, after two years of fierce war, witnessed the destruction of about 85% of economic facilities, with unemployment rates reaching 78% and poverty at 85%. Additionally, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by approximately 84%. All these factors have affected the Palestinian economy overall, including halting exports and contributions in the industrial and agricultural sectors."

Al-Tabaa concluded his remarks by saying: "I am not entirely pessimistic, but the current situation is very difficult. There are no clear political solutions to integrate the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian government's umbrella, and there is no outlook for disbursing salaries and dues for employees. Furthermore, there is no clear vision to develop the economy or support productive projects, making the economic future unclear as of now."