Israeli ban on raw materials hurts Palestinian economy: Ministry

The Ministry stated on Thursday that the banned materials are used in sectors such as food, leather, textiles, construction, engineering, and chemicals.

Ramallah: The Israeli ban on the entry of more than 100 raw materials into the Palestinian market has caused huge losses to industries, the Palestinian Ministry of Economy said.

The banned materials are utilised across various sectors, including food, leather, textiles, construction, engineering, and chemicals within the country, said the Ministry on Thursday in a press statement.

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Among the prohibited substances are sulfuric and nitric acids, which have inflicted significant losses on relevant industries, even prompting some to shutter operations, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Ministry said Israel uses restrictions on dual-use goods—items and technologies capable of serving both civilian and military purposes—as a pretext to impede Palestine’s economic recovery, thereby increasing the Palestinian territory’s reliance on the Israeli economy.

The Palestinian economy is facing an unprecedented economic shock, the severity of which escalated after October 7, 2023, when Israel launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Minister of National Economy Mohammed Alamour warned in May that the Palestinian economy was expected to contract by 10 per cent by the end of this year.