With recent violence and border closings, that number has fallen to 23,000, according to World Bank officials.

The border closing, intended to stop suicide bombers from entering Israel, has caused significant economic distress.

By all accounts, the border closings have become the single most damaging aspect of life under self-rule.

In the past, a border closing would have been automatic.

For Palestinians, the effects of the clashes and border closing have been staggering.

To them the border closing is a fiction.

The company attributed the cutbacks to tight supply and the continued border closing.

He said a border closing would shut off essential supplies of food and medicine to the Iraqi people.

There is also a question whether the border closings really contribute to security.

It is certainly worth a try, as nothing else - Israeli military strikes, curfews and border closings - has worked.