Data and Numbers

The economic situation in the areas where the PA rules has a direct impact on us, the residents of the State of Israel. In this position paper we will present some data to help us understand the economic situation in the Palestinian Authority and its relationship with us.

The PA's annual budget in 2017 was around NIS 16 billion. In Israel, for that matter, the 2019 budget will total NIS 397.3 billion, not including NIS 100 billion allocated for debt repayment.

The aid money received by the PA from the Arab countries has shrunk greatly, and in the last five years it has been reduced by more than half.

The sources of the PA's annual budget are considerably dependent on Israel:

 A. The tax refunds that the Ministry of Finance and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories return to the PA on an average amount to NIS 9 billion, which is about 54% of the total budget.

B. 60% of the PA's imports are from the Israeli economy, at a cost of about NIS 10 billion.

C. 66% of the PA's exports, costing about NIS 3 billion, are sent directly to Israel, making Israel their main trade partner.

D. Israeli-Arabs entering Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley spend about NIS 3 billion on visits to cities in Areas A & B each year. Exports and Arab-Israeli tourism account for about 40% of the PA's GDP.

GDP Per capita in Israel is about $40,000. In contrast, for Judea and Samaria Arabs, the average GDP per capita is only $3,000.

In terms of employment, 20% of the younger generation of Arab residents of Judea and Samaria, aged 27-18, are educated, which means they have some academic training. Due to the employment situation in the region many of them do not find work. A notable example is that every year, 2,700 PA residents complete computer studies, but 70% of them cannot not find work. Overall, unemployment among Judea and Samaria Arabs stands at 18%.

The number of PA residents working and earning a living in the entire state of Israel, including in localities and industrial areas in Judea and Samaria, is about 140,000, of which between 20,000 and 30,000 are illegal residents who work without a permit.

The average salary of those employed in Israeli companies is more than double the average salary in the Palestinian Territories. Thus, every worker who works outside the Palestinian Territory does not only support his nuclear family, but other family members in his immediate vicinity. In other words, several families make a living from a single salary. In fact, a quarter of the Palestinian population's income comes from Israel.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, residents who worked in the Israeli economy in 2014 accounted for 11.7% of the Arab workforce in Judea and Samaria, and their total salary in 2013 was approximately 12.3% of the total GDP of the PA.

All these workers go through passages that require inspection. According to the CGA, there are 18.5 million movements of PA residents each year in crossings from Judea and Samaria to work in the rest of the country. For this reason, and in order to improve security, the state will invest NIS 300 million in crossings in the coming years.

On the one hand, Israel's need for working hands and the dependence of Palestinian residents in our work, create a very strong common interest that must be continued. On the other hand, the PA's dependence on the transfer of budgets from the State of Israel requires the state to use them as pressure levers to stop incitement and payments to terrorists and their families.

The economy is an important key to regional peace. It can be the stick that will work against incitement and terrorist financing, as well as the carrot that will help the region's residents develop and advance their quality of life.

---------