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by Maha Abd ElHadi PALESTINE (News Agencies) - The violence inside Israel and the Palestinian Occupied Territories is taking its toll on the economy. Israeli newspapers said that direct and indirect costs of the uprising have mounted close to $62 million. These figures do not include Israeli military expenditures spent on the violent clashes. The Israeli Chamber of Commerce estimates that total damages could be close to $37 million within the commercial sector, and $3 million in the industrial sector due to absence of workers, deficiency in raw materials, and the halting of exports to the Occupied Territories. Low paid working Palestinians are widely employed in Israeli factories and workshops. Economic experts say road closings and traffic delays due to the events in the Occupied Territories hinder the normal process of transporting goods. The Israeli tourism sector has also been affected. Since the eruption of violent clashes, more countries, especially in Europe, have issued warnings to their citizens against traveling to the holy lands and Israel, an area that usually flourishes during the winter Christian and Jewish holiday seasons. More than 20% of Israeli Jews cancelled trips to the Sinai Peninsula, which they were hoping to travel to during the past Yum Kippur holiday. On the Palestinian side, more workers are working extra hours trying to double the production of plants existing within the areas under the Palestinian sovereignty to meet demands of the local economy. Saadi AlKaranz, Palestinian Minister of Industry in the Palestinian Authority, said Palestinian firms were asked to work double shifts for almost 24 hours to compensate for the shortage in goods and materials usually supplied through exports from Israel. An emergency committee has been formed to inspect the quality of goods in order to meet Palestinian specifications, and to ensure the proper handling and storage of important strategic goods like gas, meat, dairy products, medical supplies and some raw materials. AlKaranz said the Palestinian Authority is expecting Israel to attempt to hold over Palestinian exports to other countries. Gaza airport, which has been closed by the Israeli authorities for over three days, has reduced Palestinian exports that account for almost $600 million annually. In local shops, Palestinians were ridding the shelves of all signs and ads promoting Israeli manufactured goods, replacing them with ads for local Palestinian ones. |
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