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| By: Israel Insider staff |
| Published: July 18, 2007 |
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UN officials and Gaza businessmen cautioned Wednesday that Gaza's economy could plummet towards collapse if Israel doesn't reopen border crossings.
With more than 68,000 workers having lost their jobs since Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June, and with more than 70 percent of Gaza's factories not in production, the situation is sinking farther.
According to prominent Gaza businessman Nasser el-Helu, if the borders remain closed, the economy will collapse in "in one or two weeks maximum."
"Please lift the siege of Gaza. Mr. Blair, the siege is destroying our economy, our community," said el-Helu, speaking one day before the Quartet of Mideast mediators is set to meet newly-appointed envoy Tony Blair.
"We are asking them (the Quartet) to take consideration of what is happening here. They must take political decisions to open all the crossings, and then the operational solutions will be found," said John Ging, director of the United Nations Relief Works Agency in Gaza.
The main crossing used for commercial business, Karni crossing, cannot be opened, say Israeli officials, due to security risks. The officials promised, however, that the border closure would not prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza's 1.4 million people.
According to the US, the closures have stopped construction and manufacturing in the Strip, which includes $93 million worth of projects funded by the United Nations, that employ 121,000 people. |
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