“All wars are civil wars because all men are brothers.”-Francois Fenelon. “All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”- John Steinbeck.
The confrontations across Israel-Palestine are well on the way to becoming one of the worst tremors of violence in recent memory. In an unprecedented wave of violence, dozens of people have been injured and lost their lives. Amidst all, bombardments on tech and business morphology, have further deteriorated the backbone i.e., the economy of the nation. As per many profound philosophers, war has nothing to do with humankind, but to weaken them. Here in this article, we will examine the causes of conflict, the repercussions, and various dimensions.
Starting with the backdrop of the conflict!
ISREAL-GAZA VIOLENCE: THE CONFLICT EXPLAINED
The land of Palestine was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority. Both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arab Muslims claim to the land that dates back a couple of thousand years. However, the plausibility of compromise has proven difficult to find and the current political conflict began. Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. In the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in these areas, where more than 600,000 Jews now live. Palestinians say these are illegal under international law and are obstacles to peace, but Israel denies this. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say they’re suffering because of Israeli actions and restrictions. Israel says it is only acting to protect itself from Palestinian violence.
THE PRESENT CONTEXT
Things have escalated since the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021, with clashes between police and Palestinians. After slowing down the ravage of war, it’s noted, that the buildings used to host several start-ups, ICT companies, and freelance companies located at the heart of the city were bombarded by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Work Without Borders, Kuhail Building, Tashkeel 3D, Hanadi Tower, Ghazi Alshawwa Building, Capital Mall, Al Jamal Building, are among business hubs that suffered the damage.
According to Nour ElKhouly, community engagement coordinator at GSC, the city’s unemployment rate reached 43-46 % in the last quarter of 2020. “The employment situation was already terrible and it is just getting worse.” He kept on saying, that “One of the biggest fears we have is that our freelancers get impacted by the situation, and lose their gigs as some of them would not be able to handle the pressure of having to fulfill tasks or meet deadlines amid this crisis. Our life has stood still in Gaza, but the world outside keeps going.”
FUNDS DEMANDING SITUATION
Due to the lack of sureness in Palestinian entrepreneurs, the funding and investment process has been declined. The ecosystem continues to lack primary fulfillment, which makes investors a piece cautious of investing in Arab-based start-ups here. In addition to the above, investors tend to turn away from taking the hazard of beginning their organizations in an unstable and unsuitable environment.
According to Dr. Mahmoud Kaiyal, founder of MedTech Start-up Wikaya, based in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the prevailing circumstances will surely have an impact on investments and the work of the 48ers. He also pointed out, that “in the 48er community, things are “indirectly political”. The lack of funding is a problem as the Palestinians do not live in the areas of Israel where the tech capital exists. So, all the money you see from VCs in Israel is only enough to fund 30 % of the demand.”
Currently, the Palestinian economy depends upon foreign aid and customs revenue between Israel and Palestine. However, Israeli restrictions shattered the Palestinian economy and increased the unemployment rate. The import and export prosperity in Palestine was impacted by the border restrictions and constant Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza, which also weakened the industrial and agricultural sectors. Moreover,to boost the Palestinian economy, the restrictions on Palestinian land must be removed.
Sanjay Pahwa Calega Capital Director
Sanjay Pahwa is the Director at Calega Resources Investment LLC. Executive Director : Calega Resources Partner : Sygmia Consulting Group Chief Operations Officer, Middle East and Africa : Agility Logistics Global Integrated Logistics Senior Manager, Procurement and Materials Middle East : Kbr, Inc. General Manager :…
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