The Ministry of Social Development in Gaza said on Thursday that the rate of poverty and unemployment in the sector, in 2019, reached nearly 75%.
The ministry said in a press statement on the occasion of "International Day for the Eradication of Poverty", which falls on October 17, each year, that 70% of the population of the Gaza Strip is food insecure. She explained that this is due to "the aggressive Israeli practices accumulated since the second intifada in 2000, and the deprivation of thousands of heads of Palestinian families of their livelihoods." She pointed out that the Palestinian economy could not "create new jobs to accommodate these untrained workers." "In addition to the Israeli blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip since 2006, and the restriction of the movement of citizens and goods, in addition to three wars in 2008-2012-2014, in addition to the Palestinian division, which created a complex and difficult political, economic and social reality." The ministry said poverty indicators in Gaza "are the highest in the world, and that efforts by governmental, international and local institutions are predominantly relief and meet only about 50% of the basic needs of poor families." The ministry called for "the need for independence by humanitarian decision away from political tensions, and improve the living environment of the people of the Gaza Strip by opening the crossings and allowing citizens and goods to move freely." It called for "strengthening coordination between social institutions working in the Gaza Strip, to create integration in the provision of services for a decent life for the poor, and to increase humanitarian and relief assistance to the Palestinian people through international and regional institutions." And impose "Israel" for nearly 13 years tight blockade on Gaza, which led to a significant increase in the rates of poverty and unemployment in the densely populated sector.
