Editing Ramallah (section)

== Economy ==
[[File:Rawabi - industrial area.jpg|left|thumb|Construction of Rawabi and industrial area]][[File:Ammar_Tower_02.jpg|thumb|[[Ersal Commercial Center|Ammar Tower]] in Ramallah]]Ramallah is chief financial and commercial center for the Palestinian Authority, home to the country's numerous financial institutions.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=January 14, 2009 |title=West Bank and Gaza Economy: Before and After the Crisis – Brookings Institution |url=http://www.brookings.edu/interviews/2009/0114_west_bank_gaza_dhillon.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603050907/http://www.brookings.edu/interviews/2009/0114_west_bank_gaza_dhillon.aspx |archive-date=June 3, 2010 |access-date=November 13, 2011 |publisher=Brookings.edu}}</ref> Currently Ramallah is seat of power of the [[Palestinian Authority]], whose most of the offices are located within the city.<ref name=":1" /> The city serves as the headquarters for most international NGOs and embassies.<ref name=":1" /> Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid flowing into the city have boosted Ramallah's economy greatly since the end of the [[Second Intifada]].<ref name=":1" /> Ramallah's buoyant economy continues to draw Palestinians from other West Bank towns where jobs are fewer.<ref name=":1" /> The built-up area has grown fivefold since 2002.<ref name=":1" />

Construction boom is one of the most obvious signs of [[West Bank]] economic growth, estimated at an annual rate of 8 percent.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/ramallah-building-boom-symbolizes-west-bank-growth-idUSTRE67129P/ | title=Ramallah building boom symbolizes West Bank growth | website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> This has been attributed to relative stability and Western donor support to the Palestinian Authority.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Palestine Investment Fund|PIF]] have begun work on a $400 million commercial center comprising 13 towers which will be some of the tallest in Ramallah.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Ersal Commercial Center]] has drawn investment from a Saudi Arabian firm, The Land Holding, which has a 10% stake.<ref name=":2" /> It is not the only Gulf Arab firm investing in Ramallah and its outskirts.<ref name=":2" /> The Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company has a stake in [[Rawabi]], a completely new town being constructed in the hills outside Ramallah at a cost of $1 billion.<ref name=":2" />

Ramallah has highest concentration of high-tech companies.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=2020-12-08 |title=India donates $3 million to complete Palestine-India Techno Park |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/india-donates-3-million-to-complete-palestine-india-techno-park/articleshow/79626063.cms |access-date=2024-03-03 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> ASAL technologies, an information technology company in Ramallah, has 120 employees and is looking forward to "exponential growth".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/middleeast/palestinians-building-tech-hub-in-west-bank.html "West Bank's Emerging Silicon Valley Evades Issues of Borders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321030919/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/middleeast/palestinians-building-tech-hub-in-west-bank.html|date=March 21, 2017}}, ''The New York Times''</ref> In collaboration with the [[Republic of India]], a new tech park named, the India Palestine Techno Park is located in [[Birzeit]].<ref name=":3" /> [[Apple Inc.|Apple Inc]] operates a research & development center in Rawabi with ASAL Technologies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-28 |title=Apple expanding R&D hub in Palestinian Authority |url=https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/bypitho59 |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=ctech |language=en}}</ref> A large number multinational companies operates facilities in Ramallah, which outsource Palestinians.<ref name=":3" />

By 2010, Ramallah had become the leading center of economic and political activity in the territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority.<ref name="Toameh" /> During a building boom in the early years of the 21st century, apartment buildings and "five-star" hotels were erected, particularly in the [[Al-Masyoun]] neighborhood.<ref name="Toameh" /> In 2010, "more than one hundred" Palestinian businesses were reported to have moved to Ramallah from [[East Jerusalem]], because "Here they pay less taxes and have more customers."<ref name="Toameh" /> One local boasted to a journalist that "Ramallah is becoming the de facto capital of Palestine."<ref name="Toameh" /> This boast was seconded by ''[[The New York Times]]'' which, in 2010, called Ramallah the "de facto capital of the West Bank.<ref name="Loungo" /> According to [[Sani Meo]], the publisher of ''[[This Week in Palestine]]'', "Capital or no capital, Ramallah has done well and Palestine is proud of its achievements."<ref name="Toameh" /> Some Palestinians allege that Ramallah's prosperity is part of an Israeli "conspiracy" to make Ramallah the capital of a [[State of Palestine|Palestinian state]], instead of [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="Toameh" />