GROUP OF 77
GENEVA
G-77 and China Statement
Item 6: Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people
(Geneva, 15 September 2026)
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
The G77 and China commends UNCTAD for its evidence-based report on the developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This report provides a critical assessment of devastating impact of the Israeli occupation, military operations and restrictions on the Palestinian economy and serves as an important reference for the international community.
Madam President,
2. The findings of this report are deeply alarming. The cost of 59 years of occupation has accelerated sharply since October 2023. Unprecedented military operations have ravaged Gaza, destroying infrastructure and productive capacity, displacing nearly the entire population and causing heavy casualties. The destruction has spilled into the West Bank, and the result is systemic collapse across the Occupied Palestinian Territory; with falling output, degraded services, increased unemployment and deepening poverty.
3. The Palestinian economy has entered its most severe crisis on record. In Gaza alone in 2025, GDP per capita stood at a mere 212 dollars, which is equivalent to 58 cents per day. As of early 2026, infrastructure damage in Gaza is estimated at 35.2 billion dollars, more than two and a half times the combined pre-conflict GDP of the West Bank and Gaza. Total recovery and reconstruction needs reached an estimated 71.5 billion dollars and continue to rise.
4. Unemployment and poverty have surged. Over 90 per cent of working-age Gazans are jobless. In the West Bank, unemployment rose from 13 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2024. Since October 2023, the conflict has eliminated over 250 thousand jobs, erasing 2.8 billion dollars in cumulative labor income and leaving nearly half of the Palestinian population unemployed.
Madam President,
5. The Group is deeply concerned by the accelerating expansion of Israeli settlements and annexation measures in the occupied West Bank. As of the first half of 2026, Israel approved additional settlements and expanded existing ones and has shown signs of moving from de facto to de jure annexation. Israel now controls over 85 per cent of Palestinian groundwater resources, not only restricting Palestinian access to water but also impeding economic and agricultural development.
6. Additionally, the fiscal crisis continues to worsen. Over two thirds of Palestinian fiscal revenue remain under Israeli control and, since May 2025, Israel has withheld all clearance revenue transfers. Cumulative deductions and withheld amounts as of this year exceeded 3.67 billion dollars, equivalent to 21.2 per cent of the Palestinian GDP.
7. The crisis has further strained social protection systems, limiting assistance to people living in extreme poverty in the West Bank, while the national cash transfer programme in Gaza has remained suspended since October 2023. To finance growing fiscal deficits, the Palestinian Government has increasingly relied on domestic borrowing and the accumulation of arrears. Public debt rose and the exposure of banks to the public sector has reached unprecedented levels.
8. Thus, the Group calls for the immediate, full and unconditional transfer of all revenues withheld by the occupying Power and for an end to measures that undermine Palestinian fiscal sustainability.
9. The Group recalls the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of the 19th of July 2024, which concluded that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful. Compliance with this Advisory Opinion is essential to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their rights over their natural resources and pursue sustainable development. We reiterate our call for respect for international law. Settlement and annexation activities must cease immediately, in line with Security Council resolution 2334 (of 2016) and relevant international law, as they severely undermine prospects for peace and stability and the right to development of Palestinian people.
Madam President,
10. The Group commends UNCTAD's Assistance to the Palestinian People programme and welcomes the expanded mandate under the Geneva Consensus. We reiterate the urgent need for full implementation of paragraph 127(bb) of the Bridgetown Covenant and paragraph 55(dd) of the Nairobi Maafikiano, which call upon UNCTAD and Member States to strengthen the programme of assistance to the Palestinian people with the required additional resources.
11. Finally, the Group reaffirms our unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle to realize their inalienable rights under international law and establish their sovereign and independent State, in line with the consensus of the international community as expressed in numerous United Nations resolutions.
12. A viable, independent Palestinian State is a precondition for regional and global peace, but it cannot be built on a collapsed economy.
I thank you all.