Business Opportunities in West Bank and Gaza

Ample opportunities for doing business exist within the Palestinian market, despite the unique challenges present in the West Bank and Gaza. While economic restrictions exist in both geographic areas, the economies of the West Bank and Gaza have gone in different directions since the Hamas takeover in Gaza in 2007. The subsequent imposition of restrictions by Israel on the type of goods that enter the Gaza Strip has made it very difficult to enter the market there. The West Bank economy, on the other hand, showed a significant growth rate in 2011 (10.7%) that was followed by a decline in 2012 (5%) and 2013 (0.4% - estimated), due largely to the suspension or diminishing of donor aid, Israel’s temporary suspension of the transfer of the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s customs and VAT revenues, which Israel collects on behalf of the PA, and political uncertainty.