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UNCTAD Press conference: Report 2026 on developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory
STORYLINE
Gaza reconstruction needs reach $71.5 billion as Palestinian economy and public finances face severe strain.
Latest UNCTAD report documents the loss of decades of development gains, economic collapse in Gaza and tightening economic constraints in the West Bank.
Fiscal pressures threaten macroeconomic stability: The report finds that the Palestinian Government’s fiscal position has deteriorated sharply. Under the Paris Protocol, Israel collects more than two thirds of Palestinian fiscal revenue on behalf of the Palestinian Government. Transfers have been intermittent and subject to deductions. According to the report, clearance revenue transfers due to the Palestinian Government were fully withheld from May 2025 through mid-2026.
Risks to the banking sector: According to the report, the short validity of letters of indemnity issued by Israeli authorities affects correspondent banking relationships and access to global trade and finance. Palestinian banks also face constraints in converting physical shekel banknotes into digital balances because of restrictions on currency repatriation. Together, these constraints could disrupt financing for imports of fuel, medicines and food.
Economic crisis in Gaza: The report estimates that 92% of Gaza’s economic establishments have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023.
Reconstruction and recovery needs: The report identifies three immediate priorities: transferring withheld Palestinian revenues, safeguarding the banking system and aligning reconstruction support with the documented scale of damage and economic losses.
UNCTAD’s role: UNCTAD provides economic analysis and technical assistance on development conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In accordance with UN General Assembly resolution 77/22, UNCTAD reports on economic development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and assesses the economic costs of the Israeli occupation. For nearly four decades, UNCTAD has conducted policy research, capacity-building and technical cooperation with Palestinian public and private sector institutions and civil society, within its trade and development mandate.
Full report: https://unctad.org/publication/report-unctad-assistance-palestinian-people-2025
Production Date: 24 September 2026
Creator: UNCTAD / UNTV CH
Subject Topical: Economy, Occupied Palestinian Territory
Geographic Subject: GLOBAL
Website: https://unctad.org/publication/report-unctad-assistance-palestinian-people-2025
DESCRIPTION
STORY: UNCTAD / PALESTINE REPORT 2026
TRT: 1:47
SOURCE: UNCTAD / UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 SEPTEMBER 2026, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
WEBSITE: https://unctad.org/publication/report-unctad-assistance-palestinian-people-2025
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations
2. Various shots, briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Pedro Manuel Moreno, Acting Secretary-General UN Trade and development (UNCTAD): We estimate that 71.5 billion dollars will be needed to ensure the reconstruction and recovery of Gaza. And this figure, which is the latest joint assessment by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations, may still rise.
4. Mid Shot, desk area
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Pedro Manuel Moreno, Acting Secretary-General UN Trade and development (UNCTAD): 92% of all economic establishments that can generate employment and income in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost since 2023, and unemployment today is unprecedented: over 90% of the working age population has no employment. Today, the GPD per capita of Gaza is the equivalent of 0.58 USD per person per day while price levels are 274 percent higher than in 2022.
6. Close up, camera man
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Pedro Manuel Moreno, Acting Secretary-General UN Trade and development (UNCTAD): UNCTAD’s report therefore identifies the scale of the challenge, the cost of reconstruction and the areas central to rebuilding productive capacity and a functioning economy for the Palestinian people. But most importantly, it underscores the urgency of reconstruction, and that peace cannot be built on a collapsed economy.
8. Close up, journalist
9. Mid shot, back of briefing room
10. Wide shot, back of briefing room
Speakers:
- Pedro Manuel Moreno, UN Trade and Development, Acting Secretary General (Remote)
- Mutasim Elagraa, UN Trade and Development – Coordinator, UNCTAD Assistance to the Palestinian People
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends