In the Occupied West Bank, the magnitude of the economic and social crisis sweeping Palestinian streets is glaring.
Although store shelves are piled high with goods, demand has sharply declined as prices rise and incomes fall. Things are so unstable that prices can sometimes be different at the end of the day than at the start.
Things were bad before October 2023 but have deteriorated significantly since Israel's war on Gaza. Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank are gripped with fear as an approaching economic crisis looms.
The World Bank estimated the West Bank's GDP could fall by 6% this year, while the International Labour Organisation said 32% of jobs have already been lost.
Work permits revoked
One big reason is that more than 100,000 Palestinians had their work permits in Israel revoked, leaving them unemployed overnight.
There are no accurate statistics for the number of Palestinians who worked in Israel before the war because tens of thousands worked there illegally.
However, the withdrawal of their work permits on 8 October led to a sharp drop in income and a sharp increase in unemployment.
Badawi Abu Juwayed — a resident of the Dura area in Hebron who worked in construction in southern Israel — is one of thousands of Palestinians who lost his job.
"I am spending from my savings, which isn't much," he tells Al Majalla.
Construction workers like Badawi were paid weekly or monthly wages from contractors in Israel. He says he and his family currently live "hand-to-mouth".
"We don't know what will happen," he says. "If the war continues, we will face certain poverty if we don't get our jobs back."
Banks — which have had to write off $1bn in lending to Gaza since the war — have seized homes over failure to repay loans. Meanwhile, some families are unable to afford medical treatment for their children.
