Gaza City, Gaza Strip – The United Nations suspended construction of homes, schools and an emergency sewage system in the Gaza Strip on Monday, blaming a shortage of building materials resulting from Israel’s closure.
The move, which threatens the jobs of 121,000 Palestinians, is the latest hardship facing the poverty-stricken territory buffeted by infighting, ruled by Islamic militants and tightly controlled by Israel.
John Ging, director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, said a “huge number” of houses in refugee camps were damaged during months of clashes between Hamas and rival Fatah forces and his agency can’t repair them because it lacks building supplies. He said school repairs and construction also have fallen behind schedule, leaving children without classrooms.
About 1.4 million people are jammed into Gaza, a territory 25 miles long and 6 miles wide with no natural resources. It is hemmed in on two sides by Israel, one side by the Egyptian Sinai desert and the other by the Mediterranean Sea.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees and their descendants from the 1948-49 war that followed the creation of Israel live in squalid shantytown camps.
Unemployment is high even when tens of thousands are allowed to work in Israel. Now, with the borders almost totally sealed, at least 40 percent are out of work and many others are only partially employed. Poverty is the norm.
After Hamas won an election in January 2006 and formed a government, Israel and the West cut off funds and aid, charging that Hamas is a terrorist group. Now that Hamas has overrun Gaza, aid is being directed to the West Bank, where Fatah is in control.
Since Hamas defeated Fatah forces and took control of Gaza last month, Israel has shut the crossings except for humanitarian aid, citing security threats.
The Israelis are aware of the crisis. Shlomo Dror, spokesman for the Israeli army unit that deals with Gaza issues, said some cement is being let in along with the emergency supplies, and other building materials would be added to the next shipment.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said Monday that he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas again next week.
