Hiba Khalaf (Al Arabiya)
This Firday Gazans chose to ‘celebrate' the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of Ramadan, by visiting cemeteries to remember their dead, and prisons to see their close-ones in Israeli jails, shifting away from the conventional Eid celebration customs of gift giving and visiting relatives.
Four years of sanctions against the Gaza strip has left its toll of high unemployment and rising poverty amid rising prices.
Low income forced many Gazans to stay home to avoid the embarrassment of them not being able to cope with the expenses that come with the customary gift giving to female relatives and children.
Surprising high volume of goods
Surprising high volume of goods
Markets in Gaza this Eid witnessed high volume stocks of goods on shelves despite the Israeli siege, however many sellers confirmed the low purchasing power of people in Gaza.
"The huge amount of goods do not indicate that the market is alive, many families cannot buy these goods," said Jamal Farhan.
"Four years of sanctions have tired the people in Gaza, and a lot of them are unable to fulfill their basic Eid celebration family needs. Many visitors to the market either buy very little or just ask about the price before they leave with a sad look on their faces," he adds.
Fahmi Taha, another seller confirms that the occasions such as Eid have increased the burden of many Gazans who already suffer from low salaries amid higher increasing prices.
"Eid is an important celebratory religious occasion, and such occasion should add on the happiness to our children...our situation is too bad, but we try our best to put on smiles on our children's faces."
Ten thousands of laborers have lost their jobs; also previous battles with Israel have left a surmountable amount of suffering that made many Palestinian families homeless and trodden with poverty.
At dawn this Friday Gazans woke up on the alarm of Israeli sirens. The Israeli attacks did not kill any Palestinian however left property damages.
Many Gazans believe that the real celebration is born when Fatah and Hamas reach reconciliation and end inner Palestinian division.
Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and head of Fatah resumed direct negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on September 2, 20 months after he broke them off when Israel launched a devastating offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
(Translated from Arabic by Dina al-Shibeeb)
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