24 apr 2014
Abdula'al's glass industry
The industrial sector in Gaza Strip witnesses its worst days since years due to the tightening Israeli siege on Gaza Strip which prevented the entry of raw materials needed to run the factories. The production wheel of most factories in the enclave stopped , forcing its owners to discharge their workers until the crisis is over, to avoid more financial losses. Coloring glass industry has been affected significantly as the Israeli occupation has the right , under Gaza-Jericho Agreement Annex IV-Economic Protocol, to control the kind of industrial and economical projects in Gaza and its finance.
ALRY made an interview with Al-Haj Musalam Abdula'al the owner of a glass factory about this issue.
Abdula'al defined glass as colorless materials made by melting together several minerals at a very high temperatures. Silica, in the form of sand, is the main ingredient and this is combined with soda ash and limestone then melted in a furnace at temperatures of 1700°C. Other materials can be added to produce different colors or properties.
Abdulaal said that the history of glassmaking can be traced back to 2000 BC since then it entered in many aspects of human life where it uses in producing utensils and decorative materials including jewelry.
He continued " in the past the glass was used for architectural and industrial uses as the oldest glass materials were beads; the hallow pots weren’t recognized until 1500 BC."
He explained that the basic components of the glass are silica which derived from sand, flint and quartz that are melted down in very high temperatures to produce molten silica glass.
He told ALRAY that they use modern techniques in forming and coloring glass like drawing by laser, drilling by sand, and manual and automatic, pointing out that he has the first and only laser drawing machine in the Gaza Strip.
The process of glass digging made by putting a layer of jelly on the glass to make an insulating layer and then they choose the painting they want among huge number of available graphics then hey design it carefully according to the needed size, Abdulaal said.
He added " we enter the glass into a digital machine CNC and then give the order for computer to start the process and empty the painting to the required form and then enter the painting into the automatic sand machine then we remove the jelly layer to enter the glass into the heat glass washing machine."
Abdulaal explained that to draw and color by laser they cut the glass by glass cutter then they enter the glass into specialist machine to clean off the edges of the glass to remove any sharp points.
The second phase is entering the glass to the drawing machine and give it an implementation order to obtain the final form of the required precision and the size.
Abdulal said that the industry of the forming and coloring glass was greatly affected by the Israeli occupation siege imposed on Gaza Strip, indicating that the blockade prevents the exporting and importing of many materials they need to produce glass such as mirrors glass, the reinforced glass machine "Sikorit" and the materials needed for the industry of double glazing.
He explained that the continued of power cut affects the glass industry "the electricity cut off cripples the factories."
Palestinian industries are still affected by the Israeli occupation siege which is imposed on the Gaza Strip for 8 years.
The industrial sector in Gaza Strip witnesses its worst days since years due to the tightening Israeli siege on Gaza Strip which prevented the entry of raw materials needed to run the factories. The production wheel of most factories in the enclave stopped , forcing its owners to discharge their workers until the crisis is over, to avoid more financial losses. Coloring glass industry has been affected significantly as the Israeli occupation has the right , under Gaza-Jericho Agreement Annex IV-Economic Protocol, to control the kind of industrial and economical projects in Gaza and its finance.
ALRY made an interview with Al-Haj Musalam Abdula'al the owner of a glass factory about this issue.
Abdula'al defined glass as colorless materials made by melting together several minerals at a very high temperatures. Silica, in the form of sand, is the main ingredient and this is combined with soda ash and limestone then melted in a furnace at temperatures of 1700°C. Other materials can be added to produce different colors or properties.
Abdulaal said that the history of glassmaking can be traced back to 2000 BC since then it entered in many aspects of human life where it uses in producing utensils and decorative materials including jewelry.
He continued " in the past the glass was used for architectural and industrial uses as the oldest glass materials were beads; the hallow pots weren’t recognized until 1500 BC."
He explained that the basic components of the glass are silica which derived from sand, flint and quartz that are melted down in very high temperatures to produce molten silica glass.
He told ALRAY that they use modern techniques in forming and coloring glass like drawing by laser, drilling by sand, and manual and automatic, pointing out that he has the first and only laser drawing machine in the Gaza Strip.
The process of glass digging made by putting a layer of jelly on the glass to make an insulating layer and then they choose the painting they want among huge number of available graphics then hey design it carefully according to the needed size, Abdulaal said.
He added " we enter the glass into a digital machine CNC and then give the order for computer to start the process and empty the painting to the required form and then enter the painting into the automatic sand machine then we remove the jelly layer to enter the glass into the heat glass washing machine."
Abdulaal explained that to draw and color by laser they cut the glass by glass cutter then they enter the glass into specialist machine to clean off the edges of the glass to remove any sharp points.
The second phase is entering the glass to the drawing machine and give it an implementation order to obtain the final form of the required precision and the size.
Abdulal said that the industry of the forming and coloring glass was greatly affected by the Israeli occupation siege imposed on Gaza Strip, indicating that the blockade prevents the exporting and importing of many materials they need to produce glass such as mirrors glass, the reinforced glass machine "Sikorit" and the materials needed for the industry of double glazing.
He explained that the continued of power cut affects the glass industry "the electricity cut off cripples the factories."
Palestinian industries are still affected by the Israeli occupation siege which is imposed on the Gaza Strip for 8 years.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Thursday issued the preliminary results of the Palestinian Registered* External Trade in Goods of February, 02/2014, as follows:
Exports:
Exports slightly increased in February, 2014 by 0.2% compared to January, 2014 and it decreased by same percentage compared to February, 2013 and reached USD 68.8 Million.
Exports to Israel decreased in February, 2014 by 3.7% compared to January, 2014 and represented 86.7% of total exports in February, 2014.
On the other hand, exports to other countries increased by 36.5% during the same period compared to January, 2014.
Imports:
Imports decreased in February 2014 by 2.4% compared to January, 2014. While it increased by 12.3% compared to February, 2013 and reached USD 409.3 Million.
Imports from Israel increased by 0.3% in February 2014 compared to January, 2014 and represented 71.7% of total imports in February 2014.
On the other hand, imports from other countries decreased by 8.6% compared to January, 2014.
Net Trade Balance on Registered Goods:
The trade balance which represents the difference between exports and imports showed a decrease in trade deficit by 2.9% compared to January, 2014. While it increased by 15.3% compared to February 2013 and reached USD 340.5 Million.
Exports:
Exports slightly increased in February, 2014 by 0.2% compared to January, 2014 and it decreased by same percentage compared to February, 2013 and reached USD 68.8 Million.
Exports to Israel decreased in February, 2014 by 3.7% compared to January, 2014 and represented 86.7% of total exports in February, 2014.
On the other hand, exports to other countries increased by 36.5% during the same period compared to January, 2014.
Imports:
Imports decreased in February 2014 by 2.4% compared to January, 2014. While it increased by 12.3% compared to February, 2013 and reached USD 409.3 Million.
Imports from Israel increased by 0.3% in February 2014 compared to January, 2014 and represented 71.7% of total imports in February 2014.
On the other hand, imports from other countries decreased by 8.6% compared to January, 2014.
Net Trade Balance on Registered Goods:
The trade balance which represents the difference between exports and imports showed a decrease in trade deficit by 2.9% compared to January, 2014. While it increased by 15.3% compared to February 2013 and reached USD 340.5 Million.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Wednesday said in a press release that 600,362 guests stayed in hotels in the West Bank during 2013: 38% were from European Union countries, 9% were Palestinian and 9% were from the United States and Canada.
The number of guests and guest nights increased during 2013 by 4% and 10% respectively compared with 2012.
The total number of guest nights in the West Bank hotels during 2013 was 1,467,709, of which 10% were by Palestinians, 40% were guests from European Union countries and 9% were guests from the United States and Canada.
During 2013, there were 2,797 hotel workers, of whom 24% were female.
Hotel Room Occupancy 2013
Room occupancy in the West Bank was 25% in 2013: 35% in the Middle of the West Bank, 31% in Jerusalem hotels, 17% in the North of the West Bank and 16% in the South of the West Bank.
Hotel Capacity 2013
A total of 113 hotels in the West Bank responded to the survey at the end of 2013. They had a total of 5,890 rooms and 13,458 beds, distributed as follows:
• North of West Bank: 16 hotels comprising 296 rooms with 858 beds.
• Middle of West Bank: 34 hotels comprising 1,450 rooms with 3,449 beds.
• Jerusalem: 28 hotels comprising 1,586 rooms with 3,510 beds.
• South of West Bank: 35 hotels comprising 2,558 rooms with 5,640 beds.
The number of guests and guest nights increased during 2013 by 4% and 10% respectively compared with 2012.
The total number of guest nights in the West Bank hotels during 2013 was 1,467,709, of which 10% were by Palestinians, 40% were guests from European Union countries and 9% were guests from the United States and Canada.
During 2013, there were 2,797 hotel workers, of whom 24% were female.
Hotel Room Occupancy 2013
Room occupancy in the West Bank was 25% in 2013: 35% in the Middle of the West Bank, 31% in Jerusalem hotels, 17% in the North of the West Bank and 16% in the South of the West Bank.
Hotel Capacity 2013
A total of 113 hotels in the West Bank responded to the survey at the end of 2013. They had a total of 5,890 rooms and 13,458 beds, distributed as follows:
• North of West Bank: 16 hotels comprising 296 rooms with 858 beds.
• Middle of West Bank: 34 hotels comprising 1,450 rooms with 3,449 beds.
• Jerusalem: 28 hotels comprising 1,586 rooms with 3,510 beds.
• South of West Bank: 35 hotels comprising 2,558 rooms with 5,640 beds.
23 apr 2014
Several agreements to enhance mutual cooperation between Palestine and Jordan were signed, Wednesday, at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah.
WAFA reports that Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamadalla, and his Jordanian counterpart, Abdullah Ensour, discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance mutual cooperation in various fields. They chaired the fourth session of the Joint Palestinian-Jordanian Higher Committee and signed its minutes of meeting in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian government ministers and their Jordanian counterparts signed several memorandums of understanding, executive programs and protocols of cooperation in the economic, agricultural, health, defense and metrology fields.
Ensour stated that his country would always support the Palestinian people and considered holding the Joint Palestinian-Jordanian Committee’s session in Ramallah, as testifying to this support.
He added that his country supports the Palestinian Authority’s quest to establish the sovereign and independent Palestinian state within well-defined boundaries and territories, in line with relevant UN resolutions.
Commenting on recent reconciliation talks in Gaza, Ensour expressed his support for them and called upon the Palestinian leadership to unite its people.
He considered the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law and other humanitarian standards.
Commenting on Palestinian Israeli negotiations teetering on the brink of collapse, he noted that his country is kept abreast of latest developments.
Regarding Jerusalem, Ensour noted that his country recognizes East Jerusalem as a Palestinian territory under occupation, as well as the Palestinian state’s full sovereignty over it.
Hamadalla thanked Ensour for his country’s leading role in offering political and financial support for the Palestinian people and hosting Palestinian refugees.
He called upon the Jordanian Premier to reinforce his country’s role to protect Jerusalem against Israeli attempts to Judaize it and to change its demographic status.
He stated that the joint agreements “would enhance trade between Palestine and Jordan, which is currently around $100 million, and increase investments, especially as a double taxation avoidance agreement was signed between the two countries.”
WAFA reports that Palestinian Prime Minister, Rami Hamadalla, and his Jordanian counterpart, Abdullah Ensour, discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance mutual cooperation in various fields. They chaired the fourth session of the Joint Palestinian-Jordanian Higher Committee and signed its minutes of meeting in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian government ministers and their Jordanian counterparts signed several memorandums of understanding, executive programs and protocols of cooperation in the economic, agricultural, health, defense and metrology fields.
Ensour stated that his country would always support the Palestinian people and considered holding the Joint Palestinian-Jordanian Committee’s session in Ramallah, as testifying to this support.
He added that his country supports the Palestinian Authority’s quest to establish the sovereign and independent Palestinian state within well-defined boundaries and territories, in line with relevant UN resolutions.
Commenting on recent reconciliation talks in Gaza, Ensour expressed his support for them and called upon the Palestinian leadership to unite its people.
He considered the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law and other humanitarian standards.
Commenting on Palestinian Israeli negotiations teetering on the brink of collapse, he noted that his country is kept abreast of latest developments.
Regarding Jerusalem, Ensour noted that his country recognizes East Jerusalem as a Palestinian territory under occupation, as well as the Palestinian state’s full sovereignty over it.
Hamadalla thanked Ensour for his country’s leading role in offering political and financial support for the Palestinian people and hosting Palestinian refugees.
He called upon the Jordanian Premier to reinforce his country’s role to protect Jerusalem against Israeli attempts to Judaize it and to change its demographic status.
He stated that the joint agreements “would enhance trade between Palestine and Jordan, which is currently around $100 million, and increase investments, especially as a double taxation avoidance agreement was signed between the two countries.”
21 apr 2014
Palestinian farmers in the Salfit district appealed all to Palestinian and international bodies to stop the continued destruction of their crops, caused by the Israeli pigs in the district.
Farmers said, "We have encountered heavy losses in our wheat and barley crops, where the pigs destroyed them completely."
They added, "We tried to get rid of the pigs with all available ways but we have failed", pointing out that the only way is to shoot them; which is difficult due to the miltary's monitoring towers and checkpoints in the area.
Furthermore, according to Al Ray, Palestinian researcher Khaled Maali explained that the settlers found launching wild pigs toward the Palestinian farmlands was the best effective way to fight the Palestinian farmers without significant cost.
Maali pointed out that the occupation prevents the Palestinians from shooting the pigs, whereas it permits settlers to kill the pigs when they reach their colonial settlements.
These Israeli settler assaults are in direct violation of international humanitarian law, and of Israel's obligations under international law as an occupying power.
Farmers said, "We have encountered heavy losses in our wheat and barley crops, where the pigs destroyed them completely."
They added, "We tried to get rid of the pigs with all available ways but we have failed", pointing out that the only way is to shoot them; which is difficult due to the miltary's monitoring towers and checkpoints in the area.
Furthermore, according to Al Ray, Palestinian researcher Khaled Maali explained that the settlers found launching wild pigs toward the Palestinian farmlands was the best effective way to fight the Palestinian farmers without significant cost.
Maali pointed out that the occupation prevents the Palestinians from shooting the pigs, whereas it permits settlers to kill the pigs when they reach their colonial settlements.
These Israeli settler assaults are in direct violation of international humanitarian law, and of Israel's obligations under international law as an occupying power.
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Israel has launched a crackdown on Palestinian vendors in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as part of what it calls the “Judaize Jerusalem” campaign.
Jerusalem City Councilor Arieh King has taken credit for the action, calling it part of Israel’s plan to “Judaize Jerusalem.” King, who is the head of the right-wing United Jerusalem party, has on his Facebook page thanked the municipal authority for confiscating dozens of Palestinian bread stalls near the Old City’s Jaffa Gate. “We promised to deal with the Judaization of Jerusalem, and we are trying to meet our obligations to our voters,” he wrote in a Facebook statement. |
He said that the move had also to do with leavened products Jews traditionally forgo during the weeklong Passover.
However, a municipality official has denied King’s claims, saying the stalls were confiscated for licensing issues.
Israel has long been accused of plotting to Judaize East al-Quds especially the al-Aqsa Mosque complex there.
Over the past decades, Israel has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.
The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The international community considers the settlements illegal.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
However, a municipality official has denied King’s claims, saying the stalls were confiscated for licensing issues.
Israel has long been accused of plotting to Judaize East al-Quds especially the al-Aqsa Mosque complex there.
Over the past decades, Israel has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.
The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state on November 29, 2012.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The international community considers the settlements illegal.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
20 apr 2014
Seven years into an Israeli blockade and ten months into a crippling Egyptian one, Gaza's economic growth has evaporated
By Noah Browning and Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Life has never seemed so grim for the Mustafas, a family of seven cramped into a shabby two-room hovel in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp.
Seven years into an Israeli blockade and ten months into a crippling Egyptian one, Gaza's economic growth has evaporated and unemployment soared to almost 40 percent by the end of 2013.
Opposition to the Hamas militant group which runs the Gaza Strip has led its neighbours to quarantine the enclave, shutting residents out of the struggling Mideast peace process and leaving them with plenty of parties to blame.
Living on U.N. handouts of rice, flour, canned meat and sunflower oil, with limited access to proper health care or clean water, families like the Mustafas - seemingly permanent refugees from ancestral lands now part of Israel - have no money, no jobs and no hope.
"We're drowning... We feel like the whole world is on top of us. I turn on the television and I see the lifestyles on there, and I think, God help me leave this place," said Tareq, 22.
The Mustafas often must pick up and move when rain floods their low-lying home - even on a sunny day, it's lined with slick, smelly mildew. They stand in the dark, as 12-hour power cuts are now the norm throughout Gaza due to scant fuel.
"There's no money for university or to get married. There's not even enough to spend outside the house so we can escape a little. What kind of life is this?" Tareq asks.
Well over half of Gaza residents receive food from the United Nations, and the number is on the rise.
UNRWA, the U.N. Refugee Works Agency devoted to feeding and housing the refugees, told Reuters it was now feeding some 820,000, up by 40,000 in the last year. The U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) gives food aid to some 180,000 other residents.
SHOCK TO THE POPULATION
More than 1.2 million of 1.8 million Gazans are refugees or their descendants who fled or were driven from land that became part of Israel in the war of its foundation in 1948.
As decades passed, the hand of occupation variously clenched or relaxed through wars and uprisings. Groups of tents slowly morphed into concrete ghettos - eight camps in total - where chances for change feel as narrow as the claustrophobic alleys.
"Gaza just seems to keep descending further into poverty and de-development of the economy," said Scott Anderson, deputy director of operations at UNRWA, noting that the level of aid dependency faced by Gaza has few parallels in the world.
"In terms of economic shock to a population, probably somewhere like Sierra Leone might be the only place where people experience what the people of Gaza experience on a daily basis," he told Reuters.
The crisis is pulling down the Strip's most vulnerable, not just among its poor but also its sick. While basic health and economic indicators outstrip much of Africa, the rising level of aid dependency and sense of confinement takes a constant toll.
CANCER STRUGGLES
Eman Shannan, who runs a support group for cancer patients and writes about Gaza life, told Reuters that treatment for the disease has been rendered agonizing by travel curbs at the Egyptian border, a lack of medicine and careless officialdom.
"We are headed for disaster. Five new cases come into the office every day... Cancer doesn't kill as much as the circumstances around us do. People can survive cancer, but not this," said Shannan, herself a survivor.
There are 13,000 sufferers in the Strip and it is the second highest cause of death among Palestinians after heart disease.
Farha al-Fayyumi, a breast cancer patient from the Shuja'iya refugee camp in central Gaza complains that her teeth are throbbing - medicines used to offset the effects of her years of chemotherapy treatments are not available in Gaza.
Once the a main conduit for Gazans seeking treatment abroad, the crossing with neighbouring Egypt is now only open to people, including the sick, around two days each month. More and more, poverty is also staunching the flow.
"I haven't been to Egypt for treatment for a year and a half. I can't afford the travel expenses," said al-Fayyoumi, a widow with eight children clad in a head-to-toe black niqab body cloak.
Treatment in Gaza was rendered harder by the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords because radiation chemotherapy, the two sides agreed, could have military applications. Only five practicing oncologists remain in Gaza, Shannan notes with gloom.
BLAME
In northern Gaza's green farmland, Mahmoud blames Hamas for much of the suffering.
"Do things ever change for their gang? If jobs open up, their people get them. They never suffer," said the 23-year-old, who studied to be an electrician, then a truck driver, but found work as neither.
Hamas denies corruption and says it governs transparently, mostly blaming Israel for the Strip's economic woes.
Mahmoud's father, a farmer, sits in a flowing brown robe and rests his cane over his knees in a sunny enclosure next to his family house.
The 67-year-old remembers the orchards in his 180,000 square meters of land astride Israel's border where olives, lemons and oranges once thrived in the area's sweet well water.
Long since demolished by Israeli bulldozers amid cross-border violence in 2008, the orchard lives on only in his small garden. In it stands one of every type of tree he used to tend - a reminder of what he's lost and of the steady erosion of land and livelihoods that Palestinians have endured over the decades.
Contamination of the aquifer means the family's water is now brackish and undrinkable. Like many Gazans, they pay to have it filtered.
"When they closed the land, life ended." he sighed. "We used to sell the fruit of our trees, now we buy from Egypt and Israel, but only when we can afford it."
Grumbling at their leaders' perceived incompetence is common among residents, but many said Gazans would remain behind Hamas because of its militancy.
"The whole world is against them. They're not angels of course. They've made a lot of mistakes. But if they went ahead and recognised Israel, the people here would spit on them -- their popularity would evaporate overnight," said Zakaria Shurafa, a driver picking up his family's ration of U.N. food aid at a busy distribution centre by the Beach Refugee camp.
"I don't see any possibility of a revolt, though I'm sure Israel's blockade is trying at that ... it's no use, we're used to this kind of life."
Mahmoud, the jobless youth, lamented how the economic deadlock was dragging down society, and his dreams of what he could accomplish.
"In conditions like this, you feel people's hatred grow, their jealousy of each other grow. Young people take tramadol (drugs), there's robbery. These things didn't use to happen," he said.
"When you're young you think that, as an adult, you will be able to do more, that the world will become more open to you. But here, we found that as we grew older, our problems only grew."
By Noah Browning and Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Life has never seemed so grim for the Mustafas, a family of seven cramped into a shabby two-room hovel in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp.
Seven years into an Israeli blockade and ten months into a crippling Egyptian one, Gaza's economic growth has evaporated and unemployment soared to almost 40 percent by the end of 2013.
Opposition to the Hamas militant group which runs the Gaza Strip has led its neighbours to quarantine the enclave, shutting residents out of the struggling Mideast peace process and leaving them with plenty of parties to blame.
Living on U.N. handouts of rice, flour, canned meat and sunflower oil, with limited access to proper health care or clean water, families like the Mustafas - seemingly permanent refugees from ancestral lands now part of Israel - have no money, no jobs and no hope.
"We're drowning... We feel like the whole world is on top of us. I turn on the television and I see the lifestyles on there, and I think, God help me leave this place," said Tareq, 22.
The Mustafas often must pick up and move when rain floods their low-lying home - even on a sunny day, it's lined with slick, smelly mildew. They stand in the dark, as 12-hour power cuts are now the norm throughout Gaza due to scant fuel.
"There's no money for university or to get married. There's not even enough to spend outside the house so we can escape a little. What kind of life is this?" Tareq asks.
Well over half of Gaza residents receive food from the United Nations, and the number is on the rise.
UNRWA, the U.N. Refugee Works Agency devoted to feeding and housing the refugees, told Reuters it was now feeding some 820,000, up by 40,000 in the last year. The U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) gives food aid to some 180,000 other residents.
SHOCK TO THE POPULATION
More than 1.2 million of 1.8 million Gazans are refugees or their descendants who fled or were driven from land that became part of Israel in the war of its foundation in 1948.
As decades passed, the hand of occupation variously clenched or relaxed through wars and uprisings. Groups of tents slowly morphed into concrete ghettos - eight camps in total - where chances for change feel as narrow as the claustrophobic alleys.
"Gaza just seems to keep descending further into poverty and de-development of the economy," said Scott Anderson, deputy director of operations at UNRWA, noting that the level of aid dependency faced by Gaza has few parallels in the world.
"In terms of economic shock to a population, probably somewhere like Sierra Leone might be the only place where people experience what the people of Gaza experience on a daily basis," he told Reuters.
The crisis is pulling down the Strip's most vulnerable, not just among its poor but also its sick. While basic health and economic indicators outstrip much of Africa, the rising level of aid dependency and sense of confinement takes a constant toll.
CANCER STRUGGLES
Eman Shannan, who runs a support group for cancer patients and writes about Gaza life, told Reuters that treatment for the disease has been rendered agonizing by travel curbs at the Egyptian border, a lack of medicine and careless officialdom.
"We are headed for disaster. Five new cases come into the office every day... Cancer doesn't kill as much as the circumstances around us do. People can survive cancer, but not this," said Shannan, herself a survivor.
There are 13,000 sufferers in the Strip and it is the second highest cause of death among Palestinians after heart disease.
Farha al-Fayyumi, a breast cancer patient from the Shuja'iya refugee camp in central Gaza complains that her teeth are throbbing - medicines used to offset the effects of her years of chemotherapy treatments are not available in Gaza.
Once the a main conduit for Gazans seeking treatment abroad, the crossing with neighbouring Egypt is now only open to people, including the sick, around two days each month. More and more, poverty is also staunching the flow.
"I haven't been to Egypt for treatment for a year and a half. I can't afford the travel expenses," said al-Fayyoumi, a widow with eight children clad in a head-to-toe black niqab body cloak.
Treatment in Gaza was rendered harder by the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords because radiation chemotherapy, the two sides agreed, could have military applications. Only five practicing oncologists remain in Gaza, Shannan notes with gloom.
BLAME
In northern Gaza's green farmland, Mahmoud blames Hamas for much of the suffering.
"Do things ever change for their gang? If jobs open up, their people get them. They never suffer," said the 23-year-old, who studied to be an electrician, then a truck driver, but found work as neither.
Hamas denies corruption and says it governs transparently, mostly blaming Israel for the Strip's economic woes.
Mahmoud's father, a farmer, sits in a flowing brown robe and rests his cane over his knees in a sunny enclosure next to his family house.
The 67-year-old remembers the orchards in his 180,000 square meters of land astride Israel's border where olives, lemons and oranges once thrived in the area's sweet well water.
Long since demolished by Israeli bulldozers amid cross-border violence in 2008, the orchard lives on only in his small garden. In it stands one of every type of tree he used to tend - a reminder of what he's lost and of the steady erosion of land and livelihoods that Palestinians have endured over the decades.
Contamination of the aquifer means the family's water is now brackish and undrinkable. Like many Gazans, they pay to have it filtered.
"When they closed the land, life ended." he sighed. "We used to sell the fruit of our trees, now we buy from Egypt and Israel, but only when we can afford it."
Grumbling at their leaders' perceived incompetence is common among residents, but many said Gazans would remain behind Hamas because of its militancy.
"The whole world is against them. They're not angels of course. They've made a lot of mistakes. But if they went ahead and recognised Israel, the people here would spit on them -- their popularity would evaporate overnight," said Zakaria Shurafa, a driver picking up his family's ration of U.N. food aid at a busy distribution centre by the Beach Refugee camp.
"I don't see any possibility of a revolt, though I'm sure Israel's blockade is trying at that ... it's no use, we're used to this kind of life."
Mahmoud, the jobless youth, lamented how the economic deadlock was dragging down society, and his dreams of what he could accomplish.
"In conditions like this, you feel people's hatred grow, their jealousy of each other grow. Young people take tramadol (drugs), there's robbery. These things didn't use to happen," he said.
"When you're young you think that, as an adult, you will be able to do more, that the world will become more open to you. But here, we found that as we grew older, our problems only grew."
18 apr 2014
A public information coordination committee to oversee a group of sub projects funded by the European Union in support of the livestock subsector was recently formed, under which the communication efforts between the institutions implementing projects in the Livestock-based Livelihoods (LbL) programme, said a press release on Thursday.
The full LBL project, worth approximately EUR 11 million, was launched in 2013 in order to support the development of the Palestinian the livestock subsector. This committee will work in parallel with the project coordination framework and Project Steering Committee, which includes the Ministry of Agriculture and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and CARE and Oxfam Italia in addition to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU).
The three sub-projects constituting the LbL programme are ;
(i) 'Moving herders from aid dependence to self-sustaining growth through livestock husbandry development and market expansion (SULALAH)', implemented by UAWC and the consortium
(ii) 'Strengthening Livestock Holders' Livelihoods in Area C (Rawasi)' implemented by CARE International and the consortium; and
(iii) 'Support Livestock-based Livelihood Programme of Vulnerable Populations in the oPt, the Institutional Level Component' (LbL-i) implemented by FAO.
In addition to, (IV) "Regional Bedouin Governance (RBG) implemented by Oxfam IT, which is also made possible by the generous support of the EU.
The committee will organize and arrange the strategic implementation of visibility and communications efforts between the projects, to export a unified message to reach the largest possible audience, in addition to publishing news that reflects the joint work between the projects.
The full LBL project, worth approximately EUR 11 million, was launched in 2013 in order to support the development of the Palestinian the livestock subsector. This committee will work in parallel with the project coordination framework and Project Steering Committee, which includes the Ministry of Agriculture and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and CARE and Oxfam Italia in addition to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU).
The three sub-projects constituting the LbL programme are ;
(i) 'Moving herders from aid dependence to self-sustaining growth through livestock husbandry development and market expansion (SULALAH)', implemented by UAWC and the consortium
(ii) 'Strengthening Livestock Holders' Livelihoods in Area C (Rawasi)' implemented by CARE International and the consortium; and
(iii) 'Support Livestock-based Livelihood Programme of Vulnerable Populations in the oPt, the Institutional Level Component' (LbL-i) implemented by FAO.
In addition to, (IV) "Regional Bedouin Governance (RBG) implemented by Oxfam IT, which is also made possible by the generous support of the EU.
The committee will organize and arrange the strategic implementation of visibility and communications efforts between the projects, to export a unified message to reach the largest possible audience, in addition to publishing news that reflects the joint work between the projects.
17 apr 2014
The Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) has released the results of PMA Business Cycle Index (PMABCI) for April 2014. The PMABCI is a monthly index which aims to capture the state and evolution of economic activity in Palestine by noting performance of the industrial sector, especially fluctuations in production and employment levels and implications for the economy at large.
The construction of the indicator is based on qualitative data obtained from monthly business surveys of a representative sample of industrial institutions' owners/mangers on the value of various leading indicators during a specified period, and their expectations for the coming months. After that, the data is processed to construct a quantitative PMABCI.
During April 2014, the overall PMABCI witnessed a decline, dropping from 8.55 in March to around -0.56 this month, as a result of the deterioration in the West Bank (WB) index, and despite the relative improvement in Gaza Strip's index. Also, compared to the corresponding month of 2013, the overall PMABCI has declined relatively (see the attached figure).
The WB index has deteriorated from 15.98 to around 2.68, due to the decline in all industrial activities (except for the leather activity), specially the deterioration in food sub-sector from 2.82 to around -2.59 this month. In spite of that, the WB index in April is still had a better performance compared to the corresponding month last year.
However since the beginning of this year, data also indicates more optimism about the near future among industrial firms, as a result of continuous U.S efforts to stimulate peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, and decreased fears concerning the possibility of more deterioration in the security conditions in the future.
In GS, the index has relatively improved from -22.59 to around -9.41 during the comparison period. Although most industrial activities have shown either decline or stagnation, the relative recovery in the food industry (which forms around one third of GS's industry, and which recovered from -20.54 to 0.0) has significantly contributed to the improvement of GS's index this month.
It is noteworthy that GS index has suffered a remarkable drop since the beginning of this year, reflecting the continuous deterioration in economic, political and security conditions in the strip, mainly because of the political tensions with Egypt, and its effects on overall economic activity, especially increased restriction on the movement of goods and individuals. But it is worth to mention that GS has witnessed a relative improvement in movement and access of goods and individuals, due to less closure days since late March. Also, the Ministry of Economy in Gaza has recently broadened the list of goods that are prohibited to be imported from Israel, as part of its "imports substitution" strategy. Such step has significantly improved the domestic demand, especially in the food industry.
Inspite of that, data still indicates high pessimism about the future among the Gazan industrial firms, but with a relative improvement this month compared to the previous month. However, GS index is exposed to further deterioration as the economic and security conditions keep worsening.
It is important to notice that the maximum value of this index is positive 100, while the minimum is minus 100; a positive value indicates favorable economic performance, and the bigger this value, the better the economy is. But if the value is negative, then economic performance is worsening the closer it gets to minus 100. On the other hand, a value close to zero indicates that economic performance did not change and is unlikely to do so in the near future.
The construction of the indicator is based on qualitative data obtained from monthly business surveys of a representative sample of industrial institutions' owners/mangers on the value of various leading indicators during a specified period, and their expectations for the coming months. After that, the data is processed to construct a quantitative PMABCI.
During April 2014, the overall PMABCI witnessed a decline, dropping from 8.55 in March to around -0.56 this month, as a result of the deterioration in the West Bank (WB) index, and despite the relative improvement in Gaza Strip's index. Also, compared to the corresponding month of 2013, the overall PMABCI has declined relatively (see the attached figure).
The WB index has deteriorated from 15.98 to around 2.68, due to the decline in all industrial activities (except for the leather activity), specially the deterioration in food sub-sector from 2.82 to around -2.59 this month. In spite of that, the WB index in April is still had a better performance compared to the corresponding month last year.
However since the beginning of this year, data also indicates more optimism about the near future among industrial firms, as a result of continuous U.S efforts to stimulate peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, and decreased fears concerning the possibility of more deterioration in the security conditions in the future.
In GS, the index has relatively improved from -22.59 to around -9.41 during the comparison period. Although most industrial activities have shown either decline or stagnation, the relative recovery in the food industry (which forms around one third of GS's industry, and which recovered from -20.54 to 0.0) has significantly contributed to the improvement of GS's index this month.
It is noteworthy that GS index has suffered a remarkable drop since the beginning of this year, reflecting the continuous deterioration in economic, political and security conditions in the strip, mainly because of the political tensions with Egypt, and its effects on overall economic activity, especially increased restriction on the movement of goods and individuals. But it is worth to mention that GS has witnessed a relative improvement in movement and access of goods and individuals, due to less closure days since late March. Also, the Ministry of Economy in Gaza has recently broadened the list of goods that are prohibited to be imported from Israel, as part of its "imports substitution" strategy. Such step has significantly improved the domestic demand, especially in the food industry.
Inspite of that, data still indicates high pessimism about the future among the Gazan industrial firms, but with a relative improvement this month compared to the previous month. However, GS index is exposed to further deterioration as the economic and security conditions keep worsening.
It is important to notice that the maximum value of this index is positive 100, while the minimum is minus 100; a positive value indicates favorable economic performance, and the bigger this value, the better the economy is. But if the value is negative, then economic performance is worsening the closer it gets to minus 100. On the other hand, a value close to zero indicates that economic performance did not change and is unlikely to do so in the near future.
15 apr 2014
The World Bank will provide $13 million in grant money for environmental projects in the Gaza Strip, a statement said Monday.
According a World Bank statement, the money will go toward providing "long-term solutions to the treatment of sewage and solid waste" in the Strip.
The UN financial institution will grant $10 million to the Gaza Solid Waste Management Project, which "aims to improve the solid waste disposal in the Gaza governorates through the provision of an efficient, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly mechanism."
Meanwhile, $3 million will go to the North Gaza Wastewater Treatment Project, which aims to construct "a modern wastewater treatment plant and the development of a reuse program to irrigate surrounding fields with safely treated effluent."
"Several residential areas have been recurrently flooded with raw sewage causing property damage, injuries and deaths," Steen Jorgensen, World Bank country director for West Bank and Gaza, said in the statement.
"Illegal dumping and burning of waste are common practices across rural and urban areas causing soil, air and water pollution as well as health hazard," Jorgenen said.
"Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are entitled to live in a healthy and clean environment. Proper management of municipal waste is a priority that the World Bank is supporting to avoid negative health and environmental impacts on the well-being of Gaza citizens," he added.
On wastewater treatment, Richard Pollard, World Bank senior water and sanitation specialist, said that "the collapse of sewage ponds at the overloaded Beit Lahiya wastewater treatment plant in northern Gaza in 2007 raised critical questions about the long-term viability of water management systems in the Gaza Strip."
"The groundwater is alarmingly contaminated by leaked sewage. While the project was developed as a response to an emergency acute public health and environmental crisis, the new grant aims to ensure the long term sustainability of the facility," Pollard added.
The Gaza Strip has been under an economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2006.
The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.
According a World Bank statement, the money will go toward providing "long-term solutions to the treatment of sewage and solid waste" in the Strip.
The UN financial institution will grant $10 million to the Gaza Solid Waste Management Project, which "aims to improve the solid waste disposal in the Gaza governorates through the provision of an efficient, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly mechanism."
Meanwhile, $3 million will go to the North Gaza Wastewater Treatment Project, which aims to construct "a modern wastewater treatment plant and the development of a reuse program to irrigate surrounding fields with safely treated effluent."
"Several residential areas have been recurrently flooded with raw sewage causing property damage, injuries and deaths," Steen Jorgensen, World Bank country director for West Bank and Gaza, said in the statement.
"Illegal dumping and burning of waste are common practices across rural and urban areas causing soil, air and water pollution as well as health hazard," Jorgenen said.
"Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are entitled to live in a healthy and clean environment. Proper management of municipal waste is a priority that the World Bank is supporting to avoid negative health and environmental impacts on the well-being of Gaza citizens," he added.
On wastewater treatment, Richard Pollard, World Bank senior water and sanitation specialist, said that "the collapse of sewage ponds at the overloaded Beit Lahiya wastewater treatment plant in northern Gaza in 2007 raised critical questions about the long-term viability of water management systems in the Gaza Strip."
"The groundwater is alarmingly contaminated by leaked sewage. While the project was developed as a response to an emergency acute public health and environmental crisis, the new grant aims to ensure the long term sustainability of the facility," Pollard added.
The Gaza Strip has been under an economic blockade imposed by Israel since 2006.
The blockade has severely limited the imports and exports of the Gaza Strip and has led to frequent humanitarian crises and hardship for Gazans.
14 apr 2014
Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) Governor, Dr. Jihad Al Wazir signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Governor of the Central Bank of Sweden (Riksbank), Dr. Stefan Ingves.
The purpose of the MoU is to promote mutual cooperation and expertise exchange in the fields of financial stability, monetary policies, payment systems and market operations. In accordance with the MoU, academic visits and consultancies will be exchanged. Joint workshops, training and technical support programmes aimed at the development of work approach in central banks will also be undertaken.
The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held during April 9-13 in Washington DC. Commenting on the signature of the MoU, Al Wazir said that the PMA is making continuous effort to foster its international relations with sister and friendly central banks.
It is noteworthy to mention that the PMA has signed numerous other memoranda of understanding with the central banks of Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Bolivia contributing to enhance its international role among peer institutions. Such memoranda also foster joint efforts that promote monetary and financial stability at local, regional and global levels.
The purpose of the MoU is to promote mutual cooperation and expertise exchange in the fields of financial stability, monetary policies, payment systems and market operations. In accordance with the MoU, academic visits and consultancies will be exchanged. Joint workshops, training and technical support programmes aimed at the development of work approach in central banks will also be undertaken.
The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held during April 9-13 in Washington DC. Commenting on the signature of the MoU, Al Wazir said that the PMA is making continuous effort to foster its international relations with sister and friendly central banks.
It is noteworthy to mention that the PMA has signed numerous other memoranda of understanding with the central banks of Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Bolivia contributing to enhance its international role among peer institutions. Such memoranda also foster joint efforts that promote monetary and financial stability at local, regional and global levels.
