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Yellen warns Netanyahu of toll on West Bank economy; Israel counts on neighbours to rebuild Gaza

Yellen warns Netanyahu of toll on West Bank economy; Israel counts on neighbours to rebuild Gaza
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
28 Feb 2024
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to loosen restrictions on the West Bank that she believes hurt both Palestinians and Israelis.

Israel will seek help from countries including the United Arab Emirates to rebuild Gaza when the conflict against Hamas ends, an effort that may face resistance from regional powers in the absence of a breakthrough in establishing a Palestinian state.

US President Joe Biden said negotiators were making good progress toward a temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas and that a ceasefire could begin as soon as the start of next week.

Yellen urges Israel to end constraints hurting West Bank economy


US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to loosen restrictions on the West Bank that she believes hurt both Palestinians and Israelis.

“I’ve written to the prime minister to discuss my concerns about the West Bank and actions that Israel has taken that I believe are seriously impairing the West Bank economy, reducing income and also at the same time having an adverse impact on Israel,” Yellen said at a press conference in São Paulo.

The Treasury chief said Israel’s decision to block West Bank residents with work permits from entering Israel was not only damaging to Palestinians, but also to Israeli companies relying on that source of labour. She said she was also concerned about barriers to movement within the West Bank, which ultimately restrict commercial activity in the area. 

In prepared remarks at the top of her press conference, Yellen said she had called on Netanyahu to reinstate Palestinian work permits and reduce barriers to commerce within the West Bank.

Yellen spoke at the outset of a gathering of Group of 20 finance ministers in Brazil.

Israel counts on Middle East neighbours to help rebuild Gaza


Israel will seek help from countries including the United Arab Emirates to rebuild Gaza when the conflict against Hamas ends, an effort that may face resistance from regional powers in the absence of a breakthrough in establishing a Palestinian state.

“Right now we’re focusing on winning the war,” Nir Barkat, Israel’s economy and industry minister, said in an interview with Bloomberg in Abu Dhabi. Once it’s over, “we’ll tap into our friends around the world”. 

Asked whether Israel would reach out to the United Arab Emirates to fund any reconstruction effort in Gaza, Barkat said it would probably be on the list of regional neighbours that might be asked for assistance.

He was in the country, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital, for a World Trade Organisation meeting. 

Senior Gulf officials such as Qatar’s prime minister have previously said financial aid to rebuild Gaza is conditional on progress toward a two-state solution between the Palestinians and Israelis. 

Israel and the UAE established diplomatic ties in 2020 under the so-called Abraham Accords. The UAE’s stance has since revolved around maintaining dialogue with the Israelis while trying to defend the rights of Palestinians. 

Iran-backed Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union, killed 1,200 people and abducted around 250 when its militants broke out of Gaza and rampaged through southern Israel on 7 October. 

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 30,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory, leading to severe international pressure on Israel to stop the fighting or at least reduce its intensity.

The war has also caused economic devastation in Gaza, with the World Bank estimating there was a contraction in gross domestic product of more than 80% in the fourth quarter.

The next major phase of the campaign may be Israel sending ground forces into the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than one million civilians are seeking refuge from the conflict.

An offensive on Rafah “must be done,” Barkat said. “We have to make Hamas surrender.” 

Biden anticipates Gaza ceasefire ‘by next Monday’


US President Joe Biden said negotiators were making good progress toward a temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas and that a ceasefire could begin as soon as the start of next week.

“My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close,” Biden told reporters on Monday in New York, when asked when he thought a ceasefire would start. “We’re not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Discussions on Israel agreeing to pause the war in Gaza in exchange for the release of more hostages held by Hamas have intensified in recent days. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that representatives from Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar had agreed on the “broad contours” of a deal.

An offensive on Rafah “must be done,” Israel’s Barkat said in an interview with Bloomberg in Abu Dhabi on Monday, before Biden spoke. “It’s not a question of should it be done. We have to make Hamas surrender. They’re evil.”

Barkat said he didn’t know if there would be a truce before Ramadan. But he said Hamas had to commit to releasing all the hostages.

“I’m part of the government that says that it’s all or nothing,” he said. “It may be in phases, but we have to discuss how we bring everyone back home. This ‘take a bunch now and discuss later’ approach is something that is unacceptable.” DM
Read more in Daily Maverick: Israel-Palestine War

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