UN report calls for strategic approach to address Palestinian crisis

Ramallah, May 8 A UN report has called for a strategic approach to address the economic and fiscal crisis facing the Palestinian Authority and urged all parties "to respond in a coordinated and integrated way to solve this precarious situation".

"The current political, economic and security challenges in the Palestinian territories risk perpetuating a continuous cycle of crisis management," said the report issued by the office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, ahead of an upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in Brussels on Tuesday.

The report noted some improvements since the last meeting of the AHLC in 2021 through increased activity and integration between Israeli and Palestinian economies.

The number of Palestinian workers crossing from the West Bank into Israel has risen to 153,000.

At the same time, nearly 12,000 entry permits have been issued for the Gaza Strip's residents to work or trade in Israel, said the report, noting such initiatives will improve Palestinian livelihoods and ease tensions in the short term.

It added that "increasing economic integration requires updating the regulatory framework that governs the relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian economies".

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestin stopped in 2014 following deep disputes on Israeli settlements and establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.

Norway has chaired the AHLC since its founding in 1993 and it usually meets twice a year in New York or Brussels.

The main task of the committee is to coordinate international aid to Palestine.

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