GAZA STRIP, July 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Palestinian shopkeepers in Gaza have been forced to sell their products at half price due to increasingly deteriorating economic conditions under the Israeli blockade, news agencies reported.
The blockade has clamped down on the occupied Palestinian territories since the beginning of the second intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation last September.
Gazan shopkeepers' latest innovative means of attracting reluctant customers include using eye-catching posters that reflect the everyday misery of Israeli occupation.
Billboards with catchy phrases like "sales bombardment", "knockout prices", "urgent news" and "special offers" can be seen on many shops in Gaza. Many of them display pictures of missiles hitting targets named: "prices".
"Bad economic conditions have forced us to cut our prices by half and use such catchy billboards to promote our products," said Rami Abu-Kweik, a shopkeeper from Gaza.
"Economic conditions are getting worse each day," said Ali Salem, another shopkeeper from Gaza, "We wish to God the day won't come when we have to shut down."
Daily confrontations with the Israeli occupation army have even created a jargon that has entered the Palestinians' everyday language.
When Palestinian youths seek to make up after a fight, they call a "ceasefire" - an obvious mocking insinuation to the failed mid-June U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
A Palestinian youth with tousled hair is usually teased with names like "demonstrator" or "stone-thrower".
The Israeli blockade on Palestinian territories has notably prevented dozens of thousands of Palestinian laborers from going to their work in Israel, raising the Palestinian unemployment rate to 40%, and the rate of Palestinians living in extreme poverty to two-thirds of the entire population.
According to official indicators, the Palestinian economy suffers daily losses of up to $30 million because of the continued blockade.
The agriculture sector has been most hit by the Israeli blockade. Several crops have been totally destroyed, notably the latest olive crop.
Palestinian industry is also held back due to lack of raw materials, while the services sector has dropped by 75%.
