From Minimum to Below: The Current Palestinian Situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (2023-2025)

From minimal to sub-minimal: Palestine between survival and deprivation

Since the October 2023 war, the West Bank and Gaza Strip have entered an unprecedented phase of economic and humanitarian collapse, with Palestinians living on the margins of life-no luxuries, no normalcy, just survival.

West Bank: A teetering economy and life under restrictions

• Thecollapse of the labor market: Half a million jobs lost, including 148,000 for West Bank workers inside Israel, raising unemployment to 32%.

• Economic paralysis: Closure of checkpoints and crossings, collapse of trade, closure of hundreds of small businesses.

• Day-to-day life: Lack of job security, frustration among youth and graduates, and widespread desire to emigrate.

• Movement restrictions: An increase in military checkpoints from 567 to nearly 700, and the isolation of cities from each other.

Gaza: Life below the survival line

• Unprecedented food crisis: UN agencies warn of a "worst-case famine scenario," with children dying of starvation and 82% of the population dependent on aid.

• Infrastructure collapse: 97% of water is contaminated, electricity is almost completely cut off, and half of health facilities have been shut down.

• Crippling blockade: Complete closure of crossings since March 2025, internal isolation due to buffer zones and forced displacement of 90% of the population.

• A traumatized society: Mass psychological trauma, the destruction of education, and the collapse of the economy into a total "relief economy."

The result: a permanent margin rather than a transient crisis

The study warns that this situation could become permanent, as a generation grows up seeing food and electricity shortages and political deadlock as the normal state of affairs, entrenching "despair" as a collective state.

However, a thin thread of hope remains, represented by the spirit of steadfastness and community solidarity, but breaking the vicious cycle requires radical political change, lifting the siege, and empowering Palestinians with their resources and their right to a dignified life.