Is the Palestinian economy trending up?
After two years of sharp decline, the index for industrial production in Palestine rose slightly in 2016.
![PALESTINIANS/ Palestinian labourers use jackhammers at a quarry in the West Bank village of Shioukh near Hebron April 10, 2007. Stone and marble factories and quarries, located mainly in the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron, are at the core of the Palestinian industrial sector. According to the Union of Stone and Marble Industry, the industry employs about 15,000 administrative, skilled and unskilled labourers. Picture taken April 10, 2007.
REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK) - RTR1P0SM](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2017/02/RTR1P0SM.jpg/RTR1P0SM.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=a13pO8ZQ)
After two years of sharp decline, the Palestinian industrial production index recorded a small gain in 2016.
According to the Feb. 5 report of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the index for industrial production rose 0.96% in 2016, after witnessing a drop of 3.9% in 2014 and 3.8% in 2015. In December 2016, industrial production in Palestine increased by 4.9% compared with the same month in 2015. It was the highest growth registered since April 2016.