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Palestinian trade deficit widens 17% as exports lean further on Israel

Statistics bureau figures for August show the goods deficit at $559.6 million, with Israel taking 96% of exports.

First seen
StatusConfirmed
Sources1 cited
Shelves of cups, glasses and vases in traditional Hebron glass, July 2023
Shelves of cups, glasses and vases in traditional Hebron glass, July 2023. Hebron, southern West Bank, 2023. Photo: FlightlessTofu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
$559.6mAugust trade deficitPCBS
96%of exports went to IsraelPCBS
-46%exports to other countriesPCBS

The Palestinian trade deficit in registered goods rose 17 per cent in August 2026 from a year earlier, to $559.6 million, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said on 22 October in figures carried by WAFA. The comparison is with August 2025, when the war in Gaza was still under way.

Imports rose 19 per cent to $776.6 million, with 62 per cent coming from Israel. Exports to Israel rose 29 per cent and made up 96 per cent of all exports in the month, while exports to every other destination fell by 46 per cent.

The bureau did not give a total export figure; the numbers imply about $217 million. The figures cover registered trade and come as the Palestinian economy faces closures across the West Bank, reduced aid and cuts to WFP assistance there, which was halved to 200,000 people in September.

Where this comes from

  1. WAFA2026-10-22 · english.wafa.ps

Barq summarises the reporting above in its own words. Figures are given as the named source gives them.