1967 marked the true turning point for what was to become the drastic social and economic decline for the Palestinians. As "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" states, that was the year "legislation regarding, banning the selling, leasing and sub-letting of land to non- Jews, was put into effect for most of the state lands. his of course was meant to prevent the Palestinians in Israel from ever regaining ownership of their stolen land or that of their people through purchase. Being forced to restart their livelihoods (to most that was farming) elsewhere, Palestinian land was once again in the hands of the Israelis when in October 2003 they announced the building of a wall along the West Bank with a projected length of 437 miles.
No one was allowed across the wall without an appropriate permit, so as of October 2003 many Palestinian farm owners whose land had been split by the wall needed to register and be accepted a permit, which naturally was made extremely difficult my Israeli officials. If however a landowner does receive a permit to have access to his land the rest of his family would not, thus leaving him without any one who would assist him in managing his land appropriately. As of 2008 the amount of land expropriated for the construction of the wall was 8,750 miles, and the number of gates built into the wall was 67, with only 19 of those open daily to Palestinians with the correct permits. The strict closure system and policy along with seemingly endless checkpoints and roadblocks is causing a devastating effect on the local economy. .
All of these restrictions hinder the movement of people and goods to reach their destinations such as their homes or places of employment. This has resulted in a vast increase in unemployment for the Palestinian community. In 1996 in Gaza alone the percent unemployment had increased from 50 to 74 percent. The wall and closure system also prevents the Palestinians from reaching the most basic of their resources: drinking water.
