In 2020, few economies in the Middle East suffered more than that of Palestine. As with its neighbours, economic activity ground to a halt across several sectors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While Israel’s vaccination programme is the fastest in the world, vaccines only began to reach Gaza and the West Bank in February 2021, at the same time as a resurgence in infections that lead to a tightened lockdown.
Compounding the economic woes was a dispute between the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the government of Israel over a potential Israeli annexation of West Bank territory, which saw PNA president Mahmoud Abbas refuse to accept transfers of tax revenue — accounting for 60% of the PNA budget — between June and November.
