RAMALLAH, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian official on Thursday said Palestine's economic losses may reach 3 billion U.S. dollars if the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic continues for a period of six months.
The Palestinian Minister of Economy Khalid al-Esseily warned that the longer the crisis continues, the more it will hit the local economy.
If the crisis extends to six months, the Palestinian economy is expected to lose about 3 billion U.S. dollars in most sectors, he said.
According to al-Esseily, the government has started to assess the damage and the number of establishments that shut down due to the current crisis.
He explained that the local revenues may cut down by half, besides the expected drop in foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority, which would negatively impact the Palestinian government's performance during the state of emergency.
Earlier on Thursday, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said in a tweet that he had discussed with the Palestinian Minister of Finance Shoukry Bishara, urging Israel and the international community to support the Palestinian Authority in light of its limited resources and policy tools.
On Sunday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye declared that his government will work under an austere emergency budget.
Ishtaye said that Palestine is expected to need 120 million U.S. dollars to face this pandemic. Enditem
