Palestine lost its productive base and imports goods it once made itself.
Evidence
Over time, as economist Ibrahim Shikaki has uncovered, the Palestinian economy has lost both its independent manufacturing and agricultural bases. The extraction of value is therefore all in favor of Israel, which benefits on the one hand from receiving raw materials, such as land, water, minerals, and labor, and on the other hand from a market to sell its goods. Conversely, the Palestinian territories must import expensive finished goods, developing a trade deficit that increases their economic vulnerability. In the past fifty years, more than 75 percent of Palestine’s imports and exports have been traded with Israel. Nearly half of all goods imported from Israel were previously produced in Palestine, including clothing, footwear, soft drinks, furniture, pharmaceuticals, and even construction supplies. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 309
Categorization
- XREF: The ‘raw materials in, finished goods out’ vertical-dependence pattern mirrors the classic colonial/extractive structure described in theories of underdevelopment. — connects to: Israeli military orders after 1967 systematically deindustrialized the Palestinian economy. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 315; British Mandate land privatization forced Palestinians into wage dependence — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 310; De-agrarianization turned self-employed Palestinians into wage workers in Israel, deepening dependency — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 326 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- De-agrarianization turned self-employed Palestinians into wage workers in Israel, deepening dependency
#expands(0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 326 - Israeli military orders deliberately dismantled Palestinian banking and investment capacity
#expands(0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 315 - British Mandate land privatization forced Palestinians into wage dependence
#complicates(0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 310 - Israeli occupation from 1967 seized monetary and fiscal control over Palestine
#expands(0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 314