West Bank and Gaza Investment Climate Assessment : Fragmentation and Uncertainty

This Investment Climate Assessment (ICA)
seeks to evaluate the conditions under which the Palestinian
private sector currently operates in the West Bank
(including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza strip. This
assessment is both an update and expansion on a similar
assessment undertaken by the World Bank in 2006. As such, it
provides both a snapshot of the investment climate in 2013,
as well as a longitudinal view of what has changed in the
intervening seven years and, just as importantly, what has
not. Where relevant, it also compares indicators of the
Palestinian investment climate with those of other countries
in the region and beyond. The objective of this assessment
is to provide the Palestinian business community, the
Palestinian Authority (PA), and the international
development community with an empirical analysis of the
investment climate under which Palestinian businesses
operate. The report describes the key constraints on
business and investment and identifies reform priorities for
those aspects of the investment climate and constraints
which are within the PA's control, as well as some
policy recommendations for areas outside of the PA's
control, but within the domain of development partner
assistance agendas and/or Israeli policies. This analysis is
intended to inform Palestinian policy-maker actions to
improve the business environment. It can also help inform
the actions of other concerned parties, including the
international development community, regional actors, and
the Government of Israel regarding policies that affect
Palestinian economic growth and sustainability.