30 june 2022, a gross challenge

I have rather neglected my blog, although put out a monthly take on linked-in when we publish our palestinian economic bulletin. The economic situation there is grim. This month, in the region, I focused on territorial integrity as a prerequisite for economic development. The evident lack in palestine makes strategic long-term planning all but impossible, as if 61% of an independent scotland was occupied by an english army, with a large police station at paisley on the outskirts of glasgow, controlling the roads between cities and all entries out the country, as well as drainage, water and power going in, with discretion over taxes collected at the borders, withheld whenever the english government became annoyed. If england's GDP per head was £50k and scotland's just £3k, workers would be flooding across the border, undermining the prospects of a sustainable independent scottish economy. In the west bank, "area c" is under total israeli control, with new israeli settlements continuing to be built, even deep in the interior, like har bracha, which is closer to nablus than paisley is to glasgow. The shvut rachel settlement, in the heart of the west bank, is set to grow five times larger. Even settlements israel considers illegal and sets the power of the state to evacuate, stubbornly remain. Meanwhile, 614 palestinian structures built in area c were demolished in the last 12 months, the highest ever apart from 2016 and 2020, and a new unit has been established to better map palestinian construction there. As it would test the scottish authorities to deliver a viable economic plan in these circumstances, so it is quite a challenge for the palestinians. They need rather more help with it.