The residents of the Gaza Strip received the new school year in conditions that are the hardest in 13 years, due to economic backlogs caused by the Israeli blockade and Palestinian division, the head of the businessmen association said.
Hayek said in a press statement on Tuesday that "the difficult economic reality has cast a shadow on large groups in Gaza, and prompted many of them to think only to meet their basic needs, which portends a worse situation in the near future."
He explained that economic activities are witnessing a decline since the beginning of 2019 is the most serious of its kind, with the rise of poverty rate among the population of the sector to more than 65%, and unemployment of more than 56%, the highest in years, not to mention the significant decrease in the purchasing power of the population due to lack of cash .
Al-Hayek stressed that the continuation of the Israeli blockade and the work of the United Nations Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM) and the disruption of Palestinian reconciliation have prevented the revival of basic economic activities and the emergence of crises affecting the lives of the population in Gaza.
He called on the Ministry of Education to take into account the living conditions of the people of Gaza, and provide exemptions, and to turn a blind eye to the obligation of students to school uniforms and excessive demand for stationery, especially since many categories were unable to provide because of poor economic conditions.
Hayek called on local and international bodies to work on the completion of Palestinian reconciliation and pressure on the Israeli side to lift the siege on Gaza, pointing out that it can not reach solutions to the problems of the sector in the absence of a solution to the previous two issues.
