RAMALLAH, November 21, 2006, (WAFA) - Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said that from September 2000 and during five years, numerous Israeli checkpoints, earth mounds and road blocks have restricted internal movement in West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In a press release issued Tuesday in the Occasion of World Food Day, 21 November, 2006, PCBS revealed that frequent closure of crossing borders have dramatically reduced overall trade particularly food imports and exports, adding that Israeli daily procedures are directly and indirectly affect Palestinian people life and their source of income.

According to the press release, the unemployment rates reached about (24.2%) in the third quarter of 2006, and the mobility of the Palestinian labour force into Israel is increasingly restricted.

"The percentage of employee in Israel and Settlement decreased from 22.1 in the third quarter of 2000 to 10.5% in the same quarter of 2006. The dependency ratio is increased from 4.8 in the third quarter of 2000 to 5.9 in the same quarter of 2006," PCBS said.

PCBS clarified that poverty ratio is estimated by about 23.0% in the Palestinian Territory in 1997, where 45% of the Palestinian households lay under the poverty line till June 2006, adding that about half of Palestinian households loose half of their income during the fourth quarter of 2005 (about 51.6%).

It also pointed out that the Israeli siege in the Gaza strip since the beginning of the current year, and the frequent closure of the cross borders affect the availability of the main food commodities which lead to ten fold increasing of the prices comparing with the first half of the year 2005.

"Also the consumer prices in Gaza Strip showed an increase by about 4.13% due to increasing of the most commodity group prices, and the food commodity shows an increase by about 6.41% during the first half of this year comparing with the same period of the previous year. The frequent closure of Al-Mentar crossing in Gaza Strip during 2006 expects to reduce the percentage of the imported goods in Gaza Strip to 35.0% comparing to 2005," PCBS said.

Referring to the Agriculture sector, PCBS concluded by saying that during the last five years Agriculture sector is dramatically affected, where its contribution in the national Gross Domestic Production is reduced from 9.1% in 2000 to about 7.0% in 2005.

H.M (21:36 P) (19:36 GMT)