Israeli, Palestinian Business Leaders Commit To Support Palestine's Economy Amid Conflict

Israeli and Palestinian business leaders at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 committed to working together to support Palestinian resilience in the face of increased political uncertainty that threatens the viability of the two-state solution.

This comes after thirty years of signing the landmark Oslo Accords between the two countries. 

At the meeting, Palestinian and Israeli business leaders released a joint statement reinforcing their commitment to work together to reduce alarming social and economic disparities against a grim political landscape threatening the prospect of the two-state solution.

Both countries intend to do so by spurring economic growth, raising employment opportunities and attracting foreign investment in the Palestinian economy, which will contribute to reduced disparities and increased socioeconomic stability in a challenging political and fast-developing regional context, according to the statement. 

Currently, the Palestinian economy remains stagnant and vulnerable to political uncertainty and a volatile global economy. Its economy is predicted to slowly recover from the twin shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic repercussions of the war in Ukraine and the unemployment rate remains high at an overall rate of 25.5 per cent and 38 per cent for young people.

“In the context of political uncertainty, doubling down on the Palestinian economy is crucial in maintaining the dialogue and a pathway to the two-state solution,” said Mirek Dušek, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. 

“The communiqué is a crucial milestone and reinforces the importance of business-led diplomacy in conflict areas and could be of inspiration for other similar initiatives around the world,” Dušek said.

“The World Economic Forum continues to support the ongoing efforts of the Israeli and Palestinian business leaders and remains active in driving its work on peace and reconciliation and ultimately fostering greater regional and global collaboration,” he added.

The business leaders pledged to work with national, regional and international stakeholders to support the economy in the context of political uncertainty and unlock the full potential of start-ups through increased prominence in the international space, more accessible access to credit, and a stronger, more supportive ecosystem to help young Palestinian entrepreneurs scale their activities.

“We call upon world leaders to encouragingly prompt Israeli and Palestinian leaders to sit around the negotiating table and achieve the long-awaited peace after so many years of failed opportunities,” said Samer Khoury, Chairman, of Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). 

“We also issue a call to action to the international business community to safeguard Palestinian rights and the economy in light of aggravated challenges being imposed on the Palestinians. Our economy is fragile but promising and we need to work with global and regional friends to protect it from additional threats and unleash its true potential. Only a strong economy will help the resilience of the people on the ground and preserve the true hope for a two-state solution,” Khoury said.

“As business leaders from Israel, we understand the challenges being faced by Palestinians and have an interest in helping the economic development of key Palestinian sectors to prevent any deterioration of the situation,” said Yossi Vardi, Chairman, of International Technologies. 

Vardi further added, “We see the true potential for international companies to invest in the Palestinian economy and see the quality of engineers and entrepreneurs. Together with the World Economic Forum and all friends working to advance peace in our region, we issue a call to action to strengthen the Palestinian economy and open new avenues for peace and two states.”