West Bank fuel shortage strands Palestinians at pump with economy running on empty
Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondentOn most days, Sael Jabareen drives from his home in Ramallah to work at the office of the Israeli-Palestinian peace organization Combatants for Peace in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) away.But for the past two weeks, he has been unable to make the trip. He simply has no gas.Across the West Bank, fuel gauges on Palestinian cars have recently been stubbornly stuck on empty as the territory grapples with an acute shortage of gasoline.“The West Bank is completely paralyzed because of this,” said Sameh al-Atout, an economist at An-Najah National University in Nablus.Driving the shortage is a cash crunch that has left fuel-sellers short of the money needed to purchase imported gasoline, possibly compounded by higher energy prices worldwide and panic buying by skittish consumers.Experts say deeper structural issues are also at play, including the…
The West Bank is experiencing a severe fuel shortage, paralyzing daily life and public transportation. This crisis, ongoing since mid-July, is primarily driven by a cash crunch preventing fuel sellers from purchasing imported gasoline, compounded by global energy prices and panic buying. Economist Sameh al-Atout stated, "The West Bank is completely paralyzed because of this."
- The Palestinian economy's reliance on the Israeli shekel and restricted access to banking services, along with the Palestinian Authority's (PA) monopoly on fuel imports, are identified as deeper structural issues.
- Palestinian Finance Minister Estephan Salameh attributed the shortage to multiple economic crises, particularly a cash liquidity crisis with Israeli banks, and called for phasing out the Israeli shekel and promoting electronic payments.
- Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax revenues, amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels monthly, has also contributed to the PA's fiscal crisis, impacting its ability to pay fuel suppliers.
- Despite claims of consistent fuel supply by the Petroleum Authority, residents report long lines, fraying tempers, and even physical altercations at gas stations, with many unable to refuel.
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