Physical Separation
There is a physical separation between Palestinians living in Gaza and those in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel essentially bars any movement between these areas. In 1995, the occupied West Bank was divided into three areas, designated as Areas A, B, and C, as part of the Oslo Accords. Area C - 60 percent of the West Bank and home to about 300,000 Palestinians - was supposed to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority. But Israel still controls it completely and has built more than 290 illegal Jewish settlements and outposts on it, where some 700,000 settlers now live. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
Water
Israel controls most of the water resources in the region, including the main underground aquifers of the occupied West Bank. Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza often face restrictions on access and usage. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum safe water consumption of 100 litres per capita per day. In 2023, Israelis on average consumed 247 litres a day, while Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza got 82 litres.
Internet
Palestine is digitally occupied, too. Israel restricts imports of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, claiming it is “dual use”, or has both civilian and military applications. While Israel is rolling out high-speed 5G mobile internet, Palestinian network operators are only allowed to use 3G in the occupied West Bank (since 2018) and 2G in Gaza. These restrictions stifle Palestine’s ICT sector, which relies mostly on Israeli software and infrastructure. Israeli networks can also monitor and censor online Palestinian content.
Unemployment
Every morning, before dawn, tens of thousands of Palestinian workers squeeze into cage-like lanes to wait to pass Israeli military checkpoints on their way to work. Israel, with its heavy restrictions on Palestinian movement and resources, has driven Palestinian unemployment rates to the third highest in the world. Making matters worse, as of January 2024, about 507,000 jobs have been lost across Palestine due to Israel’s war on Gaza, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The ILO predicts that if the war on Gaza continues until June, unemployment in Palestine will rise above 45 percent compared with 25 percent for the same period last year.
Demolished, Displacing
What would you do if you knew you needed a permit to build a home, but it is nearly impossible to get one because you are Palestinian? Many Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are forced to build homes without permits because Israel refuses to grant them. “All my memories were in that house,” Fakhri Abu Diab, 62, told Al Jazeera after Israeli authorities bulldozed his home in occupied East Jerusalem in February. Israeli authorities typically require Palestinian residents to pay for the bulldozing of their own homes, leaving Abu Diab concerned that he may not be able to afford the demolition. At least 10,700 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank have been demolished, displacing more than 16,000 people, since 2009, the UN said.
Shekel
Israel has significant influence over Palestine's financial resources through mechanisms like the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has overseen parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the mid-1990s. Israel collects about $188m a month in taxes on behalf of the PA - 64 percent of the PA’s total revenue. Israel has regularly suspended these payments, hampering the PA’s ability to pay salaries to its estimated 150,000 employees working in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. (The Palestinian economy operates on the Israeli shekel, and its financial interactions with the rest of the world must go through the Israeli banking system.) [Reuters] The Palestinian economy operates on the Israeli shekel, and its financial interactions with the rest of the world must go through the Israeli banking system
All
Since 1967, when Israel occupied all of historic Palestine and expelled 300,000 Palestinians from their homes, Palestinian trade relations with the Arab world have been all but cut off. Israel controls the movement of goods that Palestinians can import and export. In 2001, Israeli forces destroyed Yasser Arafat International Airport in Rafah, southern Gaza, the territory’s only Palestinian-operated airport. Yasser Arafat International Airport was meant to facilitate both international trade and tourism. Palestine has a high trade deficit because of Israeli restrictions on its borders and resources. Its dependency on the Israeli economy means some 80 percent of its exports go to Israel.
Oppression
Palestine’s rich cultural heritage is constantly in danger under Israeli occupation. Since October 7, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has destroyed more than 200 cultural heritage sites, including museums, libraries, and mosques. Israel has also destroyed more than 390 educational institutions, including every university in Gaza. On January 17, the Israeli military used explosives to destroy Israa University in Gaza City. These are just some of the ways daily life in Palestine is restricted under Israeli occupation. Israel’s control and domination violate international laws and deprive Palestinians of their right to self-determination. They have also diminished Palestine’s economy, making it dependent on Israel, according to a report by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. “We’re traumatised,” Abu Diab, who was forced to pay for the demolition of his own home earlier this year, said. Palestinians say Israel’s continuing system of oppression has meant that the Nakba has never really ended.
