A Palestinian child looks for water for his family

Bassam Garrar, director of the Noun center for Qur’an studies in Ramallah, agrees.

"Developing the role of the Zakah committees could help improve the economic situation in the Palestinian territories."

He added that when Zakah money is used in investment projects, this would create more jobs to help the underprivileged and the unemployed.

"The Zakah committees in the Palestinian territories have promoted means on paying the Zakah and established investment projects, but such efforts stumbles over Israeli restrictions.

Garrar said the Palestinian Zakah committees have been subject to incessant Israeli measures that blocked its members for fulfilling their aspired-for role.

"Israeli forces usually storm the office of Palestinian Zakah committees, confiscate files and computers, arrest members and freeze assets."

He called for forming a unified Zakah committee to supervise the spending of the Zakah money.

"Despite all such Israeli practices, a Palestinian central Zakah fund could be established through unifying all Zakah committees in the other Palestinian cities."

For his part, Sakr Abu Hein, head of an Islamic charity in Gaza, said the absence of a Palestinian system to use the Zakah money and the Israeli measures are the main obstacles to invest Zakah money in creating job opportunities in the territories.

He added that forming a Zakah committee to supervise the spending of the Zakah money would improve the economic conditions in the territories.

Hundreds of Palestinian families on Saturday, October 16, sift through the ruins of their homes in the hope of recovering some valuables after the 18-day onslaught by Israeli occupation army on the northern Gaza Strip.

UN rights experts had condemned Israel's "systematic" demolition of Palestinian homes and destruction of water sources and livelihoods in the southern Gaza Strip Rafah refugee camp during a massive incursion in May.

Palestinian businessmen have accused Israel of attempting to paralyze the already-shattered Palestinian economy by closing Al-Muntar crossing, an economic lifeline for transporting 95 per cent of the strip’s exports and imports on a daily basis.

According to 2002 UN statistics, unemployment increased to 50% in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and that 70% of Gaza Strip inhabitants now live in poverty, defined as per capita consumption of less than $2 a day. The poverty rate was 23% in 1997, and 20% in 1990.

In September the same year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) annual report on the occupied territories said that the Palestinian economy was experiencing "de-development".

The participants highlighted that the Palestinian economy is regularly disrupted by roadblocks, curfews, bulldozing of homes and farms, destruction of wells and confiscation of land to build new Jewish settlements, in violation of international law.

UNCTAD found that since the outbreak of the Intifada, gross domestic product had fallen by more than half, unemployment had tripled and more than two-thirds of households were living below the poverty line.

The Palestinian Authority's olive output, one of its most important agricultural products, was reduced by more than 80% in 2001, due to Israeli military actions against both people and groves.