Count the rings of the gnarled olive trees dotting Mohammed MousaB次元官网网址檚 land in village of Nilin: TheyB次元官网网址檝e been here centuries, far before the Palestinian familyB次元官网网址檚 livelihood came to depend on the whims of

When Israel established a checkpoint near the MousasB次元官网网址� land a decade ago, the family converted their ancestral farm into a parking lot for Palestinian workers entering Israel.

But the lot has been empty since Oct. 7, when from the Gaza Strip, and Israel, fearing more attacks, barred Palestinian workers from the West Bank from entering Israel.

In the fifth month of the family is out of savings, running up debt at supermarkets and selling heirlooms to put food on the table.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e sold my motherB次元官网网址檚 gold, my phone, my bicycle,B次元官网网址� Mousa said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nothing more to sell.B次元官网网址�

IsraelB次元官网网址檚 campaign in Gaza has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, unleashed an and decimated the stripB次元官网网址檚 economy. But IsraelB次元官网网址檚 near-complete severance of economic ties with the West Bank also has had serious repercussions for Palestinians there.

Economists and Palestinian officials say the territory faces a dire economic crisis that also weakens the Palestinian Authority, which administers autonomous pockets in the West Bank. Under interim peace deals from a generation ago, the self-rule government was meant to expand and eventually run a future Palestinian state.

The fallout from IsraelB次元官网网址檚 decision is felt keenly in Nilin. Before October, over 10,000 Palestinian workers crossed the checkpoint there daily, heading to Israeli construction sites and farms. Israeli shoppers used the crossing to enter the West Bank.

An estimated 200,000 Palestinians worked in Israel and Israeli settlements before the war, according to the Israeli workersB次元官网网址� hotline Kav LaOved. The jobs pay much higher wages than what is available in the West Bank.

The checkpoint gate is now bolted shut, eyed by armed Israeli guards in a watchtower nearby.

Alaa Mousa, 38, who grew up in Nilin as part of the extended Mousa family, crossed the checkpoint every day for 10 years to work at a construction site in Israel. After Oct. 7, he looked for similar work in the West Bank but said no one was hiring. With two children to feed, he now relies on the goodwill of nearby supermarkets.

But those shops, with signs in both Arabic and Hebrew, are struggling, too. NilinB次元官网网址檚 streets used to teem with Israelis from nearby towns and settlements seeking cheaper prices for everything from groceries to auto repairs.

Ahmad Srour, who staffs his familyB次元官网网址檚 supermarket, said prices went up by 30% because of an increase in transportation and supplier costs. He said sales are down 70%.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 know how much longer we can keep the doors open,B次元官网网址� said Srour, who has watched four neighboring stores close since October. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been here since 1996, but weB次元官网网址檝e never seen anything like this.B次元官网网址�

A third of the villageB次元官网网址檚 6,400 residents used to work in Israel, and all lost their jobs after Oct. 7, according to municipality official Nidal Khawaja. A fifth of the villageB次元官网网址檚 university students have delayed their semesters, unable to pay tuition. The townB次元官网网址檚 commercial revenue has dropped 40%.

WhatB次元官网网址檚 true in Nilin is true across the West Bank, where a third of workers are now unemployed, up from 13% before the war, according to the World Bank. Salaries for government employees have been slashed, and intermittent closures of military checkpoints have stifled commerce.

Israel operates 400 checkpoints in the territory, the Palestinian Economic Ministry said, turning what should be short supply trips into hourslong journeys. When the checkpoints are closed, they can also prevent the passage of trucks. Israel says the restrictions are meant as a security measure.

The Palestinian economy in the West Bank contracted by over a fifth in the last quarter of 2023, according to the Palestinian economic ministry. A third of businesses in the territory either closed or reduced production and a third of jobs were lost. Daily losses run to $25 million.

B次元官网网址淭he question isnB次元官网网址檛 if there is a crisis,B次元官网网址� said Khawaja, the official from Nilin. B次元官网网址淭he crisis is already here.B次元官网网址�

The crisis is compounded by the inability of the territoryB次元官网网址檚 largest employer, the Palestinian Authority, to pay full salaries. Under in the 1990s, Israel collects tax revenues on behalf of the Palestinians, transferring them to the Palestinian Authority, which uses them in part to pay wages. Since October, IsraelB次元官网网址檚 Bezalel Smotrich, has held up transfers to Gaza, prompting the Palestinian Authority to refuse to accept any of the money.

The U.S. has repeatedly urged Israel to release funds, to no avail.

Last week, the PA said it would transfer 60% of December salaries to workers B次元官网网址� over a month late.

B次元官网网址淚f the crisis in the Palestinian AuthorityB次元官网网址檚 finances continues, it will lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority,B次元官网网址� Palestinian Economic Minister Khalid Al-Esseily told The Associated Press.

B次元官网网址淚f paying salaries is the essential remaining raison dB次元官网网址檈tre of the Palestinian Authority, then it may as well collapse, as the situation calls for far more than that from it,B次元官网网址� said Khalidi.

The crisis comes as the U.S. doubles down on calls for a B次元官网网址渞evitalized PAB次元官网网址� to govern a post-war Palestinian state, starting with the West Bank and Gaza.

Though Israeli officials have said will never again enter Israel, Israeli media reported last week that officials are considering a program to allow workers over the age of 45 from the West Bank to return to Israel.

The government also has allowed some 8,000 Palestinians to return to work in Israeli settlements. But the future of the labor arrangement remains uncertain.

The lack of Palestinian workers also has hit Israel. IsraelB次元官网网址檚 Finance Ministry said in December that the economy was losing $830 million a month as a result. As of December, half the construction sites in Israel had shut down.

B次元官网网址淭he industry is at a complete freeze,B次元官网网址� Raul Sargo, head of the Israeli Builders Association, told IsraelB次元官网网址檚 parliament in December. B次元官网网址淭here is no immediate alternative. The state accustomed us to Palestinian workers.B次元官网网址�

Back in Nilin, Mohammed Mousa spoke of a time B次元官网网址� before the checkpoint, before the parking lot B次元官网网址� when his land wasnB次元官网网址檛 fallow.

There, his family raised chickens and pressed olives into oil. That ended when checkpoint clashes erupted between Israeli security forces and Palestinians, sending clouds of tear gas over the familyB次元官网网址檚 land.

A demolition order for the chicken coop, which Israel says he built illegally, is pending in court. Weeds now poke through the parking lotB次元官网网址檚 dusty grounds where his farm used to be.

B次元官网网址淚 hope the war in Gaza finishes. ThatB次元官网网址檚 my first wish,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hen, I hope the parking comes back.B次元官网网址�

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Julia Frankel, The Associated Press