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Poverty could double in the West Bank as coronavirus takes toll, World Bank warns

The bank estimates the percentage of poor households in the West Bank will increase from 14% to 30% in 2020.
A Palestinian boy leans against the entrance to his house in Qalandiya Refugee Camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, ahead of Nakba Day May 13, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700, 000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. The graffiti reads "Yousef Oude", a Palestinian prisoner held in an Israeli jail. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - GM1E95E03ZE01

The number of Palestinians living below the poverty line could more than double this year, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to exacerbate the existing financial crisis in the West Bank, the World Bank warned in a report June 1. 

“Going forward, the outlook for the Palestinian economy looks grim especially after the COVID-19 outbreak,” the Washington-based bank said. “At this point, it is not possible to say how long it will take for the economy to recover from the current containment measures."

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