United Nations human rights experts issued a powerful warning on Monday over what they called an unprecedented economic emergency in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, directly caused by Israel’s relentless attacks, blockade, and financial warfare.

In a strongly worded statement, the UN experts condemned Israel’s policies as a systematic assault on Palestinian economic life, calling them a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights obligations.

“Economic life in Gaza has been decimated by sheer physical destruction, blockade and siege, and repeated forced displacement,” the experts declared.

The statement painted a grim picture of Gaza’s economy: over 80% unemployment, a dramatic collapse of GDP, and virtually halted trade. Poverty is now endemic, and famine has officially been declared.

According to the UN experts, nearly all commercial, agricultural, and industrial assets have been damaged or destroyed. “There is now a liquidity crisis in Gaza,” they warned, noting that most banks and ATMs have been reduced to rubble while Israel has blocked the inflow of new currency.

The resulting cash scarcity has triggered catastrophic inflation, with cooking oil prices rising 1,200% and flour prices soaring by 5,000% by mid-2025. Humanitarian workers, they reported, are losing nearly 40% of their salaries simply to access their wages.

Electricity blackouts and telecommunications outages have crippled digital payment systems, further suffocating what remains of Gaza’s economy.

The experts stressed that the occupied West Bank is also under severe economic pressure. Israel has arbitrarily diverted and withheld Palestinian tax revenues—funds it is legally obligated to transfer under the Oslo Accords—crippling the Palestinian Authority’s ability to pay salaries and maintain liquidity.

Work permits for 100,000 Palestinian workers have been suspended, cutting off cash inflows that previously accounted for nearly one-quarter of gross national income.

“These measures exacerbate the already heavy economic losses resulting from Israel’s illegal taking of land and exploitation of natural resources by settlers,” the experts said.

The experts stated unequivocally that Israel’s economic siege constitutes a blatant violation of the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights, including their right to an adequate standard of living, the right to work, access to food, water, sanitation, health, and life, as well as their freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

They also reminded Israel of its obligations as an occupying power to maintain economic life for the benefit of the civilian population—not to plunder resources or expropriate property.

“These measures also impede the collective rights of the Palestinian people to economic self-determination, control over their natural wealth and resources, and development,” the experts said.

The UN experts issued a direct appeal to Israel, urging it to immediately lift the blockade and siege of Gaza’s civilian population, remove currency restrictions and restore cash flows, establish secure cash distribution and digital payment systems, permanently renew the West Bank banking waiver, and cease withholding Palestinian tax revenues.

They further reminded Israel of the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion demanding that Israel end its illegal occupation, and of the UN General Assembly’s September 17, 2025 deadline for compliance.

The experts called on world governments to act decisively to stop Israel’s economic strangulation, alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe, and prevent the total financial collapse of the Palestinian territories.

“The international community must act urgently to compel Israel to stop violating fundamental rules of international law, respect the economic rights of the Palestinian people, alleviate the humanitarian crisis and prevent financial collapse,” they said.

This latest UN warning comes as Gaza endures one of the most devastating humanitarian crises in modern history, with Israeli siege policies amounting to collective punishment of over two million people—policies human rights advocates say are part of a broader campaign of genocide. (ILKHA)