Nablus Under the Boot: Israel’s Checkpoints and Financial Strangulation Push West Bank Into Unprecedented Poverty
In the occupied West Bank, Israel’s tightening financial grip on the Palestinian Authority and a surge in military checkpoints have crippled the local economy, pushing Palestinian society into a level of poverty never seen before.
In Nablus, once the economic engine of the occupied West Bank, every sector now faces a steep drop in living standards as Israel’s financial pressure on the Palestinian Authority has crippled the local economy [189865]. A growing number of military checkpoints have made it nearly impossible for residents to work, trade, or move freely, with locals describing a relentless decline and saying they have “sacrificed everything” as their livelihoods collapse [189865].
The crisis mirrors a broader pattern of economic strangulation across the region. In Iran, families are struggling as the cost of living skyrockets under the weight of war, subsidy reforms, and international sanctions, making basic necessities unaffordable [190329]. Some Iranians had hoped foreign intervention would topple the government, but the ongoing US-Israel conflict has further crushed livelihoods with no relief in sight [190329].
Meanwhile, in northern Nigeria, more than 17 million people across nine conflict-hit states face severe hunger, the worst food insecurity in nearly ten years, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) [189985]. Violence and funding cuts have stripped many of their livelihoods, forcing thousands to flee across the border into neighboring Benin [189985].