JAKARTA - The year 2022 has been the deadliest in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2006 with more than 220 Palestinians, including famous names such as leading journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli forces.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting in Ramallah City, West Bank, Tuesday, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said nearly 832 Palestinian-owned buildings had also been demolished by Israel this year.
He described 2022 as "suffering" for Palestinians "in which more than 220 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers, more than 9,000 injured, 6,500 detained, 832 buildings destroyed, and 13,000 falling olive trees," Daily Sabah reported January 2.
PM Shtayyeh said his government had managed to achieve a growth rate of 3.6 percent.
According to the prime minister, the unemployment rate in the occupied West Bank fell from 19 percent to 12.6 percent, a figure in the blockaded Gaza Strip remained at 46 percent.
PM Shtayyeh voiced hope that the flow of international aid and donations, especially from Arab countries, would recover in 2023.
It said the Palestinian Authority was unable to pay more than 80 percent of the salaries of public sector employees over the past year, due to Israel's cuts from Palestinian tax revenues.
The tax revenue known in Palestine and Israel as a maqasa was collected by the Israeli government on behalf of the Palestinian Authority for imports and exports of Palestine. In return, Israel received a commission of 3 percent of the collected income.
The collected revenue is estimated to be around US$ 30-33 million each month, representing the main revenue source of the Palestinian Authority.
Separately, as many as 950 homes and facilities were destroyed and more than 2,8021 hectares of Palestinian land were seized by Israeli forces in 2022, a non-governmental organization (NGO) later confirmed last week.
The Land Research Center, which operates in Palestine, issued a report on "Israel's Violation of Palestinian Land and Housing Rights for 2022" saying Israeli forces are also burning, damaging, or attacking, 18,900 trees, mostly fruitful olive trees.
"Meanwhile, 66 water reservoirs, as well as 916 hectares of rehabilitated soil and▁keteranganur, were destroyed or damaged," he noted.
The Israeli government announced 114 new settlement plans this year, while 2,220 housing units were built for 815,400 Jewish illegal settlers living on Palestinian soil, according to the report.
Last week, the Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the Israeli government's upcoming plan to accelerate the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would promote settlement construction in the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.
Israeli and Palestinian estimates show some 650,000 settlers live in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank, including in occupied Jerusalem. Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.
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