Feature: Palestinians receive Ramadan amid economic recession

GAZA (Xinhua) - Different from previous years, Sakher Abu Zeid, owner of a small grocery store in the impoverished Gaza city, decided this year to only sell some basic food during the holy fasting month of Ramadan which starts on early Sunday.

Abu Zeid is not alone. Instead of overstocking goods as they used to, most of the grocery stores owners in the West Bank and Gaza Strip decided this year only to sell basic food products people need over the coming month.

"Economic recession and tensions with Israel prevent us from getting too many products in our stores, because we know people in such a difficult situation can't afford all what they need for Ramadan," Abu Zeid told Xinhua.

There on the shelves of the 56-year old's little store are limited amounts of diary products and some kinds of cheese and pickles.

"In the last three months, people's income had severely declined. This is why we have a weak purchase power and this badly affected our business," said Abu Zeid, adding that "what I sell everyday is barely enough for paying my debts."

The poverty and unemployment rates have been growing in the Gaza Strip over the past eight years due to an Israeli blockade imposed on the coastal enclave right after the Hamas movement seized control of it in 2007, and its borders with Egypt were also closed since then.

After the Palestinian rival parties Fatah and Hamas agreed to end their internal split and formed a unity government earlier this month, the Palestinians hope that this would help end the border closure with Egypt. But this is not happening now.

In the market of Gaza's old city, the commercial sentiment was not very much encouraging on the eve of Ramadan. The marketplace used to be overcrowded with customers and various kinds of Ramadan products in the past years.

Abdel Qader Abu Sha'ban, owner of a store in the old city market, told Xinhua that the commercial trading this year is very light due to difficult economical situation. "Although we have displayed fewer goods for customers, still not many people are coming to buy."

Around 50,000 employees hired by Hamas in Gaza over the past seven years didn't receive their salaries for May and June, said the store owner, adding that "as long as they don't get their salaries, the commercial movement in Gaza will stay weak."

Before the formation of the unity government, Hamas employees received their salaries from the former Hamas government. But after the unity government was sworn in, Hamas said that the new government should be responsible for paying the wages.

Rami Abdo, an economic expert in Gaza, told Xinhua that the salary problem is affecting around a quarter of the 1.8 million population of the Gaza Strip, and warned of the growing despair among people mainly during Ramadan.

Beside the declining economy in the Palestinian territories, the growing tension between Israel and the Hamas movement had also influenced the Palestinians' preparations for Ramadan.

Mohamed Asfour, who owns a mini market in downtown Ramallah in the West Bank, told Xinhua that the number of customers who come to buy commodities for Ramadan is much lower compared to that of previous years.

Tareq al-Haj, a Palestinian economist, said that the ongoing Israeli military operation to find the three Israelis who disappeared on June 12 had influenced the business sentiment all over the West Bank, and deprived people either of working or going out for shopping.

Since June 12, the large-scale operation to find the three teens has killed six Palestinians and detained about 500 people so far.