The Palestinian Capital Market Authority is increasing its efforts to protect the most important Palestinian economic bodies — such as the Palestine Stock Exchange — which have been negatively impacted by a lack of investment awareness, the internal political schism between Fatah and Hamas, and the ongoing Israeli economic siege, now entering its seventh consecutive year. 

All this has prompted a flight of local capital to other Arab and international stock markets. No sooner does one enter the trading floor in a Palestinian brokerage firm than does one feel that a stillness has come over the commotion of stock trading.

In one of the largest Palestinian brokerage firms, trading rooms are divided among a number of different stock exchanges, according to the level of investor demand.

The pre-opening bell rings, then the opening bell, but the Palestinian traders did not attend the trading session. At the same time, cries welled up and investors’ glances grew fierce at the fluctuations of stock prices in the neighboring hall, which had been reserved for trading on the Egyptian and Dubai stock exchanges.