by Our Foreign Desk

GAZA’S economy is on the “verge of collapse,” a new World Bank report warned yesterday, noting that the unemployment rate there is now the highest in the world.

The bank charged that “blockades, war and poor governance have strangled” the economy of the Gaza Strip.

The report estimates that Gaza’s GDP would have been four times higher but for conflicts and restrictions, including a blockade in place since 2007.

Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade on Gaza after Hamas successfully resisted an attempt by forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to overthrow the elected Hamas government.

Israel has launched three wars against Gaza, including 50 days of air, sea and land bombardment last summer in which thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged.

Over 2,200 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, were slaughtered, as against 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians killed.

The report said that about 43 per cent of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents were unemployed — the highest proportion in the world. Youth unemployment reached about 60 per cent by the end of last year, it added.

“The current market in Gaza is not able to offer jobs, leaving a large population in despair, particularly the youth,” said World Bank director Steen Lau Jorgensen.

“The ongoing blockade and the 2014 war have taken a toll on Gaza’s economy and people’s livelihoods.”

He warned that the “status quo in Gaza is unsustainable,” adding that recovery depends on an easing of the blockade and on donor countries honouring pledges made at last year’s international conference in Cairo.