Economy Without Keys: How We Are Managed by Abundance and Besieged by Decision

We live a daily paradox that we barely notice. Our cities and villages are full of modern cars, brightly lit shops, and smartphones in every hand. From the outside, the scene looks like a natural picture of a contemporary economy. But behind this facade, a harsher reality hides: our lives are dependent on a tap. A water tap that opens or closes, an electricity breaker that disconnects or reconnects, and a fuel truck that is allowed to pass or is prevented. We own the tools, but we don't have the keys to operate them.
This is “false abundance.” Consumer abundance that conceals deep structural fragility. An economy that appears modern in form, but is inherently impotent, because it does not control the simplest inputs of life: energy, water, and fuel. In this model, economic capacity is not measured by the volume of consumption, but by the ability to continue when this consumption is forcibly stopped.
The problem here is not technical or administrative, but structural par excellence. The Palestinian economy, as it has been shaped over the past decades, was designed to function as a dependent consumer market, not as an independent productive economy. More than 85% of the electricity consumed in the West Bank is purchased from Israel, and the annual electricity bill is estimated at more than three billion shekels, drained from household income and the local economy. The occupation is not managed by checkpoints alone, but also by monthly bills.
In this context, many discussions about “improving networks” or “expanding their capacity” seem incomplete, and sometimes misleading. They assume that the defect is in the network's efficiency, not in its nature, meaning they try to fix a tool that was originally designed to be a control tool. And here lies the biggest trap: every investment in restoring the old network, without changing its logic, is an investment in deepening dependency.
From here, the need arises to re-ask the question from its roots: Do we need a better network, or a different relationship with the network? The thesis is simple in its formulation but radical in its results: the solution does not lie in waiting for international aid to rehabilitate networks over which we have no sovereignty, but in gradually becoming independent from them, by building decentralized alternatives that reduce fragility and expand the margin of decision.
This starts with energy. Reliance on a centralized electricity grid that is managed politically before it is managed technically makes the entire society hostage to a single decision. In contrast, decentralized energy production through solar systems and micro-grids opens up a different horizon. The cost of these systems has decreased globally by more than 80% over the last decade, and the average home system now recovers its cost within two to three years. The paradox is that the bill by which we finance dependency can be transformed into an investment that gives families a minimum level of energy security.
However, the trap of false abundance is clearly evident in the petroleum file. The Palestinian citizen suffers, from time to time, from a sudden shortage in supply, which directly affects transportation, production, and the prices of basic goods. These crises are often not related to the absence of fuel from regional markets, but to the absence of a stable local stock capable of absorbing shocks. Despite talks about plans to establish petroleum depots, the reality is still based on a model that relies on continuous flows without an actual reserve.
In this model, people's lives turn into a state of perpetual waiting: waiting for a truck, an approval, or the opening of a crossing. Any disruption in supply, no matter how short, creates an immediate crisis because the safety margin is almost non-existent. The problem here is not purely technical or financial, but structural. Owning a stock means owning a minimum of stability and decision-making power, which the current framework does not provide.
The same logic applies to gas. There are no real strategic gas reserves, but small operational tanks sufficient for a limited number of days. Any disruption in supply immediately affects homes, bakeries, and hospitals. Again, gas is available in the region, but it is not available as a safety tool, because storage itself is absent.
The scene of false abundance is not complete without stopping at the “bloated cash” in Palestinian banks. On paper, the picture looks reassuring: customer deposits in Palestinian banks exceeded twenty-one billion dollars, a figure that reflects high liquidity. But this abundance, like energy abundance, is restricted. A large part of this liquidity does not turn into productive investment or independent infrastructure, but remains confined within the banking system, seeking security in an economy that lacks decision-making tools.
In contrast, estimates indicate that the consumption of fuel in the Palestinian territories exceeds one billion liters annually. We are facing a large energy market in terms of demand, but it operates without a stable strategic reserve, which means fuel is imported moment by moment, and becomes vulnerable to interruption in any crisis. Again, abundance in numbers, and fragility in reality.
Energy, petroleum, gas, and cash are not separate issues, but different expressions of one model: abundance in form, and fragility in control. Available electricity that can be cut off, nearby fuel that is not guaranteed, and high liquidity that is not utilized. In each case, the problem is not the absence of the resource, but the absence of the keys.
In the end, independence from the network does not mean isolation from the world, but rebalancing the relationship with it. To be part of the system, not its hostages. The real problem is not that we are poor in resources, but that we are poor in controlling them. And we do not need new abundance, but keys. When we have them, abundance transforms from an illusion… into a viable reality.
*International Economic Consultant, and Board Member of International Digital Transformation