Josean Prado (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Unemployment rates of 43 percent for Gaza’s general population and 60 percent for young people suggest a bleak future for Israel as well as Gaza.

The Guardian reports:

The economy of Gaza – assailed by war, poor governance and a joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade – has reached the “verge of collapse” with the coastal strip suffering the highest rate of unemployment in the world.

The bleak picture is presented in a devastating report by the World Bank, released on Friday, which said that Gaza’s economy had been strangled by years of blockades, war and poor governance and faces a dangerous crisis over its ability to meet wages and other spending requirements.

Calling for the “lifting of the blockade on the movement of goods and people to allow Gaza’s tradable sectors to recover” the report warned that about 43% of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents are unemployed, with youth unemployment reaching about 60% by the end of last year.

Continue reading here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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