Gaza _ Palestine News Network
According to the People´s Committee to confront the blockade, economic losses in the Gaza Strip during 2018 exceeded $300 million.
The 2018 harvest is the hardest in the Gaza Strip since the 1967 Israeli occupation, said Jamal al-Khodari, chairman of the People´s Committee, in a statement on Sunday.
"The Gaza Strip is experiencing an unprecedented economic and humanitarian situation, with direct and indirect economic losses exceeding 300 million dollars," al-Khodari said.
He described the year 2018 as "the most disastrous for Gaza due to the Israeli blockade of the sector 12 years ago, and the effects of three destructive wars." "The ongoing and systematic blockade is essentially aimed at striking the national economy, which is the backbone of resilience and stability," he said.
The People´s Committee had stated that the occupation continued to prevent hundreds of goods from entering Gaza, the most important of which was the raw materials needed for the industry, which had affected some 90 per cent of the factories and exacerbated their suffering.
It noted that nearly 300,000 workers, in addition to thousands of graduates, had been disrupted, with youth unemployment rates rising to about 65 per cent.
Hundreds of shops, factories and workshops were completely closed during the year, in an unprecedented development in the impact of the economic downturn, al-Khodari said.
"The daily per capita income is less than $2, with 85% living below the poverty line, which has compounded suffering and weakened families and reduced the chance of getting their basic needs to a reasonable extent."
Al-Khodari appealed to all States, institutions and bodies, whether Arab, Islamic or international, to work in 2019 on two tracks; the first is the pressure to compel the occupation to work within the charters of the United Nations, the four Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which criminalizes the blockade and the sanctions. Collective, thus lifting the blockade completely.
"The second track is to increase financial support for all humanitarian and service projects and employment projects for workers and graduates, so as to ensure the acceptable fixed income for them and their families and improve the performance of all services provided to citizens, whether health or educational, water, electricity and other needs. Basic ".
Israel has imposed a suffocating economic blockade on the Gaza Strip following the success of the Islamic Resistance movement "Hamas" in winning the legislative elections in 2006, and the blockade includes the prohibition or legalization of the entry of hydrocarbons, electricity and many goods, including vinegar, biscuits, poultry, meat and prevention of hunting. Deep into the sea, and close the crossings.
