| Uprising
has cost $5 bln
May 20,
2001
The
Palestinian Intifada or uprising has cost the
Palestinians five billion dollars since it broke out on
September 28 last year, Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat said.
"There
are 360,000 people out of work (due to Israel's
clampdown on the Palestinian territories) and our
national product has lost more than 65 percent of its
value," he said.
The
Palestinian finance ministry said last month the
Palestinian territories have suffered huge losses due to
the Israeli blockade since the start of the Palestinian
uprising last September. The
blockades, a punitive action which the Israeli army says
is aimed a containing the Intifada, has ruined the
economy of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
According
to the United Nations, unemployment has reached as high
as 60 percent in some parts of the Gaza Strip and
averages 40 percent in the West Bank, compared to 11
percent before the start of the unrest.
The
Palestinian leader said that losses since the Arab
summit in Amman at the end of March had amounted to 750
million dollars, according to the estimates of a
Palestinian report he presented to the meeting.
According
to the report, at least 70 million dollars in Arab aid
is needed each month to support the Palestinian economy
and help the victims of the Intifada.
An Arab
summit in Cairo last October set up two funds worth a
total of a billion dollars to support the Intifada.
AFP
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