This is the latest in a series of economic reports by staff economists in the IMF’s Middle Eastern Department. This book discusses the latest economic data coming out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with a particular emphasis on growing demographic concerns. The work is enhanced by the addition of numerous data tables and graphs, which extensively analyze economic trends in the region.

Women's health status in the West Bank and Gaza has been relatively good in comparison with other economies in the Middle East and North Africa. This report, a joint effort of the Ministry of Health (MOH), World Bank, and the World Health Organization, provides the MOH with short- to medium-term policy recommendations designed to ensure the financial sustainability of the health sector while improving access to health care as well as its efficiency and quality.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel since 1967, have stagnated in the number employed (some 17,000) in domestic industry for 20 years and in the percentage contribution (8.5 per cent) to the gross domestic product. Their 4,000 establishments are mostly workshops employing on average just over four workers. Food and textiles are the dominant industries and there is much sub-contracting for Israeli firms. Some 90 per cent of industrial imports come from or through Israel and some 70 per cent of their industrial exports go to Israel, with the remainder going to or through Jordan. There are many barriers to the development of industry in the occupied territories but they overwhelmingly have their origin in the occupation itself and to a lesser degree result from difficulties made by Jordan. The Military Government runs the territories to ensure not only military security but also Israel's "economic security." Three alternative economic scenarios are projected to 1997 based on three possible futures facing the territories: (a) a conservative scenario based on continuing the occupation in its present form (status quo); (b) a reformist scenario in which both Israel and Jordan liberalize their policies within the framework of continued occupation; and (c) a radical scenario in which Israel leaves the territories in return for peace, and a separate Palestinian entity is established. In terms of industrial development the conservative scenario would yield minimal results, the reformist scenario some minor improvements in the "quality of life," and the radical scenario would result in rapid industrial development and settlement of returning refugees.

Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) Investment and Business Profile - Basic Information and Contacts for Successful investment and Business Activity

Palestine Customs, Export-Import Regulations, Incentives and Procedures Handbook - Strategic, Practical Information, Regulations

Surveys the history, topography, people, and culture of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with an emphasis on current economy, industry, and place in the political world.

The West Bank Data Base Project is an independent research group established in 1982 to study and analyze demographic, social spatial, legal, economic and political conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. The project, which is directed by Dr. Meron Benvenisti, is funded by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations and administered by The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. A continuously updated, computerized data base and its own research are the basis for the project's publications, including maps showing present and projected developments in the region.