GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Desperate Gazans crowded into banks Monday, jostling to get to the front of lines as they sought to withdraw money amid a worsening currency shortage caused by Israeli sanctions.
Israel has refused to allow cash to enter Gaza in recent weeks to ratchet up pressure on the ruling Hamas militant group. With the supply of currency dwindling, banks have limited withdrawals over the past two weeks, and some have posted signs telling customers they cannot take out any more money.
The United Nations halted cash handouts to 98,000 of Gaza’s poorest residents last week, and economists and bank officials warn that tens of thousands of civil servants won’t be able to cash their paychecks next month.
“No society can operate without money, but that’s the situation we are reaching in Gaza,” said Gaza economist Omar Shaban.
Israel and Egypt have restricted movement through Gaza’s border crossings since the Islamic militants of Hamas violently seized control of the coastal territory in June 2007.
Since then, closures have been eased or tightened, depending on the security situation. Even in quiet times, when Gaza militants refrained from firing rockets at Israeli border towns, only limited shipments of food, medicine and commercial goods were allowed in.
Israel has not permitted currency shipments into Gaza since October.
On Monday, Israel allowed in 30 trucks of food and medicine, and it also let diesel fuel reach Gaza’s power plant. But European Union officials said it was just enough oil to keep the plant running for a day, and aid officials said the food and medicine deliveries would have little impact on dire shortages of basic goods.
Israel has said it keeps out currency because it fears Hamas will use the money to finance attacks.
But the cash shortage has little effect on Hamas, which sneaks money into Gaza through smuggling tunnels from Egypt and does not deal with the formal banking system. The group pays out its cash to its loyalists and the thousands of people employed in its network of social services.
