Palestinians shop at a market ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in northern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
by Sanaa Kamal
GAZA/RAMALLAH, April 30 (Xinhua) -- In the run-up to Eid al-Fitr, which begins on Monday, only a few clients were seen in the shops on Gaza's Omar al-Mukhtar Street, showing a sharp contrast with previous years, when shoppers would rush to the markets for food after 30 days of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Mohammed Dahalan, a Gaza-based clothing retailer, said he has sold barely half of the merchandise he imported from China and Turkey for the upcoming festival that marks the end of the Ramadan.
"Customers come into the store to look at the clothes but do not buy anything. They want us to sell our products at a lower price," said the 29-year-old man, as he bargained with a customer for the price of a shirt.
Dahalan had assumed that the losses sustained in recent months would be reimbursed in the run-up to Eid al-Fitr when sales should be much higher, only to find that he lost even more money these days.
He blamed his slack business on a delay in the distribution of social welfare benefits and the payment of salaries to Palestinian Authority employees.
"We are facing tough economic situations in the Gaza Strip ... There are no strategic plans in place to lift local people out of poverty," said Mahmoud Saadallah, a customer.
The 32-year-old walked around the market for a while but did not buy anything. "There has been a significant increase in prices. I cannot buy Eid clothes, let alone Eid sweets," he told Xinhua.
Since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel has imposed a tight siege on the Palestinian coastal enclave, with four large-scale military operations launched against it.
Years of blockade has led the unemployment rate in Gaza to one of the highest in the world, according to World Bank reports.
In the West Bank, retailers are seeing a scenario similar to that in Gaza, also because of customers' concerns about high prices.
Mohammed Bowaitel, a vendor in Ramallah, complained of his poor business despite the Eid.
"Business is poor for both merchants and street vendors, because the economy has become worse," said Bowaitel.
"Eight years ago, it takes about half an hour to walk through the street because it was so crowded, but now it's empty," he said. ■
Palestinians shop at a market ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in northern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Palestinians shop at a market ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in northern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
Palestinians shop at a market ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in northern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
A Palestinian vendor sells glasses at a market ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival in northern Gaza Strip, on April 29, 2022. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
