Ramallah
Poverty in the occupied West Bank may double as Palestinians are hit by the coronavirus, the World Bank warned Monday, just weeks before Israel aims to kick-start plans to annex parts of the territory.
The United Nations has meanwhile warned that such a move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would stifle financial and aid flows to the Palestinians and ‘most likely trigger conflict’.
Israel may start the annexation process as soon as July 1 with the support of US President Donald Trump, who in January published a peace plan that was roundly rejected by the Palestinians.
The UN warned in a report Sunday that, without improved relations between the two sides and if annexation goes ahead, ‘the achievements of the Palestinian government over the last quarter century will fade.
‘The peace and security situation will worsen, and a hardened and more extremist politics on both sides will inevitably result.’
“The Palestinian Authority has acted early and decisively to save lives,” said Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank director for the occupied Palestinian territories. “However, several years of declining donor support and the limited economic instruments available have turned the ability of the government to protect livelihoods into a monumental task.”—APP
