Palestinians’ situation in the occupied territories has worsened significantly, with 2.4 million now living in poverty, according to a report published Monday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The UN agency said the economic crisis in West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights had accelerated with the number of households below the poverty line increasing 26 percent in the year to March 2007.

Statistics said that seven out of ten Palestinian households were in poverty today; nine out of ten in Gaza and one in two in the West Bank. Only one in three people had a job. Each employed person supported six dependents.

"More persons are in poverty, in deeper poverty and food insecurity than ever before," states the report, blaming this on the "dire" employment situation.

Gross domestic product was 40 percent lower in 2006 than in 1999. Exports had been in continuous free fall since then too, dropping another nine per cent in 2006.

“There is territorial disintegration, with a tight network of closures, sophisticated controls and the expansion of illegal settlements,” said the report, adding that "closures are the main cause of the worsening socio-economic situation of Palestinian women and men."

The increase in humanitarian assistance to fight the crisis was creating a dependency economy. "The Palestinian economy must be revived," concluded the ILO report.