Daily Times

The Israel-Hamas war has devastated the economies of both the embattled Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, the International Monetary Fund’s chief said Sunday, adding that only “durable peace” would improve the outlook. “The Palestinian economy’s dire outlook is worsening as the conflict persists,” managing director Kristalina Georgieva told the World Governments Summit in Dubai. “Only a durable peace and political solution will fundamentally change it”. “Economically, the impact of the conflict has been devastating,” Georgieva said. Palestinians brace for Rafah assault as Israel promises evacuation plan. In the war-ravaged coastal territory, economic activity dropped 80 percent from October through December compared with a year earlier, the IMF chief said. In the West Bank, the drop was 22 percent, she added.