Nablus and Hebron governorates.1 The occupying Power, Israel, has sought to undermine any structured activity to lay the foundation for Palestinian economy, turning it into a consumer, rather than a production and export, market. Israeli seeks to eliminate any prospects for economic autonomy or financial stability, curtailing all elements that culminate in political independence.2 According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), by the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2018, unemployment reached record-high levels, registering 31.7 percent, including 17.3 percent in the West Bank and 54.9 percent in the Gaza Strip. Failure to supply sufficient quantities of water to Palestinian governorates created a major crisis to water-dependent industries, such as food processing plants, stone processing factories, building material manufacturers, and cattle farms. The latter include those based in the Hebron governorate, renowned for breeding the majority of cattle in Palestine. Constructed deep in the West Bank, the Separation Wall has affected Palestinian life, obstructed citizens’ access to their confiscated land behind the Wall. Almost 81 Palestinian communities, with a total population of 411,000 people, are affected by the Wall, including in East Jerusalem.3 The Israel Customs Administration did not recognise the EU-Palestine Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation, which provides for dutyfree access for Palestinian imports. As a result, on all Israeli-controlled crossing points, Palestinian merchants are forced to sign a pledge, vowing to sell their goods in the territory controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) only. On the other hand, Israeli merchants are not required to sign such a pledge, allowing more room to sell their products. According to requirements set by the Standards Institute of Israel, only those goods that conform to Israeli standards are entered. Despite the fact that they are in conformity with Israeli standards, Palestinian goods are not allowed to be sold in Israeli markets. On 2 July 2018, in the second and third readings, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) approved a law on the deduction of allocations to Palestinian prisoners and families of martyrs from Palestinian clearance revenues. The law illegally encroaches on funds due to the Palestinians in accordance with the agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and government of Israel. The deduction further affects the rights of many parts of Palestinian 1 Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), Israeli Creeping Settlement Activity is at the Fore of Israeli Violations in 2018, 30 December 2018. 2 Report on Israeli Economic Violations in 2018, sent to the ICHR by the Economy Policy Department, Ministry of National Economy, 24 December 2018. 3 Ibid. 12 The Status of Human Rights in Palestine