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Shared publicly -Beautiful "Italian" restaurant in #Gaza - yet menu is everything but Italian.
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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -Gaza laborers suffer few rights, little pay
Gaza construction workers can barely scrape by after nearly a decade of Israeli blockade. Let's do something for Gaza and lift the blockade.
Hani Abu Talal is a man on a mission.
The 34-year-old laborer spends his days pounding the streets of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip for any new construction projects to which he might lend his body and time.
His is the lot of a day laborer. His luck lies in the hands of the rare on-site foreman with something to offer. His mission is near impossible. This is Gaza: it has the world’s highest #unemployment rate.
“Landing a job happens only once in a blue moon,” Abu Talal said. “I just look for any chance to get some work and make some money.”
The odd day’s work also does not guarantee respite from grinding #poverty. A father of five, Abu Talal says he is lucky if a full day’s hard physical labor earns him more than 30 shekels (just under $8).
“Construction is hard work,” Abu Talal told The Electronic Intifada. “But instead of being fairly paid, we are blackmailed; we are told that wages cannot be higher because of the lack of stability in the local economy.”
From time to time, Israel allows through a shipment of construction materials, causing a mini-spike in activity. But the wages remain the same, and Abu Talal worries that should a situation ever arise where construction enjoys a sustained boom, employers will simply keep wages low.
“If any worker dares to ask for an increase, he can be fired. So we continue to work without complaint. But that does not mean to leave us alone. We have rights. We need them respected.”
Wages besieged
What few shekels Abu Talal makes at the end of a day are barely sufficient to pay the owner of his local grocery store from where his family get their essentials. As for the future? There are no savings. There is only constant, nagging fear, he said, that one of his children should one day need urgent medical care.
Awad Baker is a contractor and one of those from whom Abu Talal would seek work. Most of his construction projects are in the central Gaza Strip, the same area where Abu Talal ekes out his living. He lays the blame for low #wages and the lack of job opportunities squarely on the #economic blockade that #Israel has imposed on #Gaza since 2007.
“We have sustained so many losses due to the siege that we are all heavily in debt,” Baker told The Electronic #Intifada. “These have to be repaid.”
Where construction materials are rare, they become more expensive. The balance is borne by labor. Contractors rely heavily on cheap, unskilled labor, which in turn affects quality. And the longer that continues, the less skilled the workers, said Baker.
After nearly 10 years under siege, Baker added, “our workers’ skills have plummeted to the extent that it affects the quality of our work. Our sector is devastated.”
The combination of the blockade and successive Israeli military assaults saw construction output in 2014, year of the last major Israeli offensive, fall by a staggering 83 percent, according to the World Bank.
Government failures
Economist Maher al-Tabaa, head of Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce, put it in stark terms: “When we have a very restricted number of jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers, wages decrease. The #blockade has denied the local economy access to many jobs and options are limited for our workers.”
With this oversupply of labor, al-Tabaa said, workers are more likely to accept work that doesn’t pay a fair wage.
But Sami al-Amasi, head of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza, says the siege is not the only factor responsible for the desperate situation of local workers.
He also fingered the policies of the now defunct Palestinian unity government which, he said, early in its tenure in 2014, canceled training and employment programs that could have helped people back to work.
The unity government was formed after an agreement between Hamas and Fatah in June 2014, but was beset by mutual suspicions from the start. A year later, it resigned, and since then Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, has twice unilaterally reshuffled the cabinet. Though #Hamas rejected both reshuffles, the government is still called a consensus government.
Temporary employment and professional training programs had in the past helped mitigate the unemployment crisis, al-Amasi said, and were intended to serve workers in all sectors, including #construction.
Their cancellation, he said, marked not only a failure of policy — which continues under the present #Palestinian Authority administration — but also showed a “disregard” for #Gaza and its population.
Al-Amasi also said there had been a failure to implement existing laws on workers’ rights, citing legislation for a minimum monthly wage of 1,450 shekels (approximately $380).
Not just the money
Construction worker Adham Abdelrahman, 39, receives less than 800 shekels per month. He works a grueling 12-hour day on average. He also had no idea that the law set a minimum wage of almost twice the amount he earns.
“I have never been paid this much. What’s the point of laws if they are not implemented?”
He said he was skeptical that officials have his interests or rights at heart.
And pay is not the only issue facing construction workers. Safety regulations are rarely implemented, workers have no health insurance and they are unlikely to receive any compensation in case of on-site accidents.
Salem al-Bashiti, 44, suffered a workplace accident four years ago that left one arm partially paralyzed.
“I was lucky that my contractor was a kind man who helped me cover some of the costs of treatment. But I know many who were abandoned without even some words of consolation after their accidents,” he said.
He looks forward to a day, he said, when construction workers could enjoy not only rights enshrined in law and enforced on site, but more general recognition.
“We work hard to serve and build our country. We deserve to be honored and treated well,” he said.
Gaza construction workers can barely scrape by after nearly a decade of Israeli blockade. Let's do something for Gaza and lift the blockade.
Hani Abu Talal is a man on a mission.
The 34-year-old laborer spends his days pounding the streets of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip for any new construction projects to which he might lend his body and time.
His is the lot of a day laborer. His luck lies in the hands of the rare on-site foreman with something to offer. His mission is near impossible. This is Gaza: it has the world’s highest #unemployment rate.
“Landing a job happens only once in a blue moon,” Abu Talal said. “I just look for any chance to get some work and make some money.”
The odd day’s work also does not guarantee respite from grinding #poverty. A father of five, Abu Talal says he is lucky if a full day’s hard physical labor earns him more than 30 shekels (just under $8).
“Construction is hard work,” Abu Talal told The Electronic Intifada. “But instead of being fairly paid, we are blackmailed; we are told that wages cannot be higher because of the lack of stability in the local economy.”
From time to time, Israel allows through a shipment of construction materials, causing a mini-spike in activity. But the wages remain the same, and Abu Talal worries that should a situation ever arise where construction enjoys a sustained boom, employers will simply keep wages low.
“If any worker dares to ask for an increase, he can be fired. So we continue to work without complaint. But that does not mean to leave us alone. We have rights. We need them respected.”
Wages besieged
What few shekels Abu Talal makes at the end of a day are barely sufficient to pay the owner of his local grocery store from where his family get their essentials. As for the future? There are no savings. There is only constant, nagging fear, he said, that one of his children should one day need urgent medical care.
Awad Baker is a contractor and one of those from whom Abu Talal would seek work. Most of his construction projects are in the central Gaza Strip, the same area where Abu Talal ekes out his living. He lays the blame for low #wages and the lack of job opportunities squarely on the #economic blockade that #Israel has imposed on #Gaza since 2007.
“We have sustained so many losses due to the siege that we are all heavily in debt,” Baker told The Electronic #Intifada. “These have to be repaid.”
Where construction materials are rare, they become more expensive. The balance is borne by labor. Contractors rely heavily on cheap, unskilled labor, which in turn affects quality. And the longer that continues, the less skilled the workers, said Baker.
After nearly 10 years under siege, Baker added, “our workers’ skills have plummeted to the extent that it affects the quality of our work. Our sector is devastated.”
The combination of the blockade and successive Israeli military assaults saw construction output in 2014, year of the last major Israeli offensive, fall by a staggering 83 percent, according to the World Bank.
Government failures
Economist Maher al-Tabaa, head of Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce, put it in stark terms: “When we have a very restricted number of jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers, wages decrease. The #blockade has denied the local economy access to many jobs and options are limited for our workers.”
With this oversupply of labor, al-Tabaa said, workers are more likely to accept work that doesn’t pay a fair wage.
But Sami al-Amasi, head of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza, says the siege is not the only factor responsible for the desperate situation of local workers.
He also fingered the policies of the now defunct Palestinian unity government which, he said, early in its tenure in 2014, canceled training and employment programs that could have helped people back to work.
The unity government was formed after an agreement between Hamas and Fatah in June 2014, but was beset by mutual suspicions from the start. A year later, it resigned, and since then Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, has twice unilaterally reshuffled the cabinet. Though #Hamas rejected both reshuffles, the government is still called a consensus government.
Temporary employment and professional training programs had in the past helped mitigate the unemployment crisis, al-Amasi said, and were intended to serve workers in all sectors, including #construction.
Their cancellation, he said, marked not only a failure of policy — which continues under the present #Palestinian Authority administration — but also showed a “disregard” for #Gaza and its population.
Al-Amasi also said there had been a failure to implement existing laws on workers’ rights, citing legislation for a minimum monthly wage of 1,450 shekels (approximately $380).
Not just the money
Construction worker Adham Abdelrahman, 39, receives less than 800 shekels per month. He works a grueling 12-hour day on average. He also had no idea that the law set a minimum wage of almost twice the amount he earns.
“I have never been paid this much. What’s the point of laws if they are not implemented?”
He said he was skeptical that officials have his interests or rights at heart.
And pay is not the only issue facing construction workers. Safety regulations are rarely implemented, workers have no health insurance and they are unlikely to receive any compensation in case of on-site accidents.
Salem al-Bashiti, 44, suffered a workplace accident four years ago that left one arm partially paralyzed.
“I was lucky that my contractor was a kind man who helped me cover some of the costs of treatment. But I know many who were abandoned without even some words of consolation after their accidents,” he said.
He looks forward to a day, he said, when construction workers could enjoy not only rights enshrined in law and enforced on site, but more general recognition.
“We work hard to serve and build our country. We deserve to be honored and treated well,” he said.
Israeli blockade saps livelihoods, and PA offers no protection.
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Sibby
Shared publicly -12-years-old Mohammed al-Sheikh, #Gaza 'Spiderboy' seeks to storm Guinness world records.. #Palestine #GuinnessBookOfRecords
#GuinnessWorldRecord
#GuinnessWorldRecord
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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -Hamas denies ISIS militants entered Gaza for military training
Israel's accusations of Hamas' cooperation with ISIS meant to justify future aggression, says Hamas spokesperson.
Hamas is facing increasing pressure from the Saudi royal house to cut ties with Iran and respect Egyptian national security interests
Hamas leader Khaled Meshal speaking during a news conference in Doha, Qatar, September 7, 2015. Reuters
Hamas denied on Saturday that members of the Islamic State group recently entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt to undergo military training in the enclave.
On Friday, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said that #ISIS operatives entered Gaza through tunnels from Egypt with the support of a well-connected #Hamas affiliate in the city of #Rafah – which straddles the #Gaza-Egypt border. He said that Hamas was helping the ISIS fighters receive medical care, adding that the group's top military and political leaders were updated on the issue.
By making these accusations, Abu Zuhri claimed, #Israel was trying to be seen as a partner in the international struggle against ISIS. Such a transparent move impresses no one, he said.
At the same time, the head of Hamas' political bureau Khaled Meshal said that the struggle against the Israeli occupation is a legitimate right and a national and religious obligation, and that the struggle is the strategic pathway to the liberation of #Palestine.
Speaking by video at a Hamas event in support of the Palestinian intifada in Gaza on Saturday, Meshal said that the occupation must not be legitimized or recognized and that resistance is not the goal but the means for liberating the land of Palestine. He said that the Palestinian people must support the #intifada in order to keep #Jerusalem and prevent its Judaization of the city.
As part of its attempt to mend ties with Egypt, Hamas is trying to create the semblance that it is distancing itself from #Iran and ISIS, at least publically. Hamas hopes the Egyptian regime will alter its policy towards to Gaza and reopen the crossing in Rafah.
However, officials in the Israeli defense establishment say that Hamas' efforts are mainly outwards and that de facto the group has not cut its ties with Iran and other radical Salafist groups, some of which are currently locked in an ongoing battle with Egyptians in #Sinai. Occasionally, reports linking the group to terrorists involved in attacks in Sinai are made public, causing much embarrassment to the group's leaders.
According to Palestinian sources in #Gaza, though Hamas is actively courting Egypt, there are some, especially in it military leadership, that view Iran and Salafist groups as their main source of funds and arms, and are reluctant to give up the ties. Nonetheless, Hamas is facing increasing pressure from the #Saudi royal house to cut ties with Iran and respect Egyptian national #security interests.
Israel's accusations of Hamas' cooperation with ISIS meant to justify future aggression, says Hamas spokesperson.
Hamas is facing increasing pressure from the Saudi royal house to cut ties with Iran and respect Egyptian national security interests
Hamas leader Khaled Meshal speaking during a news conference in Doha, Qatar, September 7, 2015. Reuters
Hamas denied on Saturday that members of the Islamic State group recently entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt to undergo military training in the enclave.
On Friday, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, said that #ISIS operatives entered Gaza through tunnels from Egypt with the support of a well-connected #Hamas affiliate in the city of #Rafah – which straddles the #Gaza-Egypt border. He said that Hamas was helping the ISIS fighters receive medical care, adding that the group's top military and political leaders were updated on the issue.
By making these accusations, Abu Zuhri claimed, #Israel was trying to be seen as a partner in the international struggle against ISIS. Such a transparent move impresses no one, he said.
At the same time, the head of Hamas' political bureau Khaled Meshal said that the struggle against the Israeli occupation is a legitimate right and a national and religious obligation, and that the struggle is the strategic pathway to the liberation of #Palestine.
Speaking by video at a Hamas event in support of the Palestinian intifada in Gaza on Saturday, Meshal said that the occupation must not be legitimized or recognized and that resistance is not the goal but the means for liberating the land of Palestine. He said that the Palestinian people must support the #intifada in order to keep #Jerusalem and prevent its Judaization of the city.
As part of its attempt to mend ties with Egypt, Hamas is trying to create the semblance that it is distancing itself from #Iran and ISIS, at least publically. Hamas hopes the Egyptian regime will alter its policy towards to Gaza and reopen the crossing in Rafah.
However, officials in the Israeli defense establishment say that Hamas' efforts are mainly outwards and that de facto the group has not cut its ties with Iran and other radical Salafist groups, some of which are currently locked in an ongoing battle with Egyptians in #Sinai. Occasionally, reports linking the group to terrorists involved in attacks in Sinai are made public, causing much embarrassment to the group's leaders.
According to Palestinian sources in #Gaza, though Hamas is actively courting Egypt, there are some, especially in it military leadership, that view Iran and Salafist groups as their main source of funds and arms, and are reluctant to give up the ties. Nonetheless, Hamas is facing increasing pressure from the #Saudi royal house to cut ties with Iran and respect Egyptian national #security interests.
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+William Allen They are Ashkenazi Kharzars who had advised the greedy priest to invade Jerusalem in the crusade in the first place. They even wanted to genocide the Jews for protecting Al Aqasa and the Muslims who studied there.
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Sun shine
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Love_never_ dies
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One day they will get freedom from enemies
In sha Allah
Great Palestinians
😊😊😊
In sha Allah
Great Palestinians
😊😊😊
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Rick Clark
Shared publicly -Egypt opens Gaza crossing for 48 hours after 85-day closure
#Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the first time in three months on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a two-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave's Islamist rulers.
Egypt's shuttering of Rafah and destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels, along with tight restrictions imposed by Israel along its own frontier with Gaza, have deepened economic misery for many of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the enclave.
Egypt's military-backed government has kept its border with the Gaza Strip largely closed since Mohammad #Morsi of the #Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted as president three years ago.
Egyptian officials view Gaza's governing Hamas group as a threat, accusing it of supporting an Islamist insurgency in the #Sinai peninsula bordering the Palestinian territory. Hamas denies the allegation.
Some 30,000 Gazans are on a waiting list to cross at Rafah. Only a few thousand, including patients, students and holders of residency permits in third countries, were likely to do so on Wednesday and Thursday before it closes again.
"I have been waiting for several months to get a chance to have advanced cancer checks in Cairo," said Umm Ahmed, a 55-year-old Gaza resident, urging Egypt's president to reopen the Rafah crossing for good because "we are brothers, not enemies".
For Gazans who live or work outside the enclave, a visit home is hard to schedule, and it carries the risk of being stuck in the territory and losing residency rights in host countries.
"You never know when the crossing will be open, so if you want to come and visit your family at home, you should be prepared to risk your job," said a Gaza merchant who does business in the Gulf.
The Palestinian Embassy in #Cairo said Rafah was opened at the request of West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud #Abbas, who met Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah #al-Sisi this week.
Hamas ousted Abbas's #Fatah movement from power in Gaza in a brief civil war in 2007.
At #Cairo international airport, immigration sources said 90 Palestinians from Gaza, stranded in third countries, had arrived and would travel by bus to #Rafah. The sources said another 120 Palestinians were expected to land later.
Last week, #Israel said it planned to reopen a second border point for commercial traffic into #Gaza, a step toward gradually easing the blockade it imposed since 2007.
Israel says its blockade prevents the movement of militants and stops construction materials that could be used by #Hamas to make bunkers and tunnels. #Palestinians there say they are under siege and are unable to rebuild homes destroyed by Israeli bombing in a 2014 war.
#Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the first time in three months on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a two-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave's Islamist rulers.
Egypt's shuttering of Rafah and destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels, along with tight restrictions imposed by Israel along its own frontier with Gaza, have deepened economic misery for many of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the enclave.
Egypt's military-backed government has kept its border with the Gaza Strip largely closed since Mohammad #Morsi of the #Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted as president three years ago.
Egyptian officials view Gaza's governing Hamas group as a threat, accusing it of supporting an Islamist insurgency in the #Sinai peninsula bordering the Palestinian territory. Hamas denies the allegation.
Some 30,000 Gazans are on a waiting list to cross at Rafah. Only a few thousand, including patients, students and holders of residency permits in third countries, were likely to do so on Wednesday and Thursday before it closes again.
"I have been waiting for several months to get a chance to have advanced cancer checks in Cairo," said Umm Ahmed, a 55-year-old Gaza resident, urging Egypt's president to reopen the Rafah crossing for good because "we are brothers, not enemies".
For Gazans who live or work outside the enclave, a visit home is hard to schedule, and it carries the risk of being stuck in the territory and losing residency rights in host countries.
"You never know when the crossing will be open, so if you want to come and visit your family at home, you should be prepared to risk your job," said a Gaza merchant who does business in the Gulf.
The Palestinian Embassy in #Cairo said Rafah was opened at the request of West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud #Abbas, who met Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah #al-Sisi this week.
Hamas ousted Abbas's #Fatah movement from power in Gaza in a brief civil war in 2007.
At #Cairo international airport, immigration sources said 90 Palestinians from Gaza, stranded in third countries, had arrived and would travel by bus to #Rafah. The sources said another 120 Palestinians were expected to land later.
Last week, #Israel said it planned to reopen a second border point for commercial traffic into #Gaza, a step toward gradually easing the blockade it imposed since 2007.
Israel says its blockade prevents the movement of militants and stops construction materials that could be used by #Hamas to make bunkers and tunnels. #Palestinians there say they are under siege and are unable to rebuild homes destroyed by Israeli bombing in a 2014 war.
Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the first time in three months on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a two-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave's Islamist rulers
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Ameera Reyes
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Ameera Reyes
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+Napo OrzoWey grazie...✌
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Hazem Helles
Discussion -locale: Palestine - Gaza - My garden
#place
#sunset
#photography
#NaturePhotography
#Flowerphotography
#Myphotography
#Nature
#Flowers
#Garden
#Palestine
#Gaza #new
#places #moment
#Beautifulplace
#Beautiful #good
#sun
#BEAUTY #shot
#Amazing
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The Palestine Children's Relief Fund
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Last month 5 yr old Farid Sallout traveled from Gaza to Shreveport, Louisiana for a life changing craniofacial surgery that he desperately needed and couldn’t receive in his home country. One week after his arrival Farid underwent a successful 14 plus hour craniofacial surgical repair that not only helped him to look better but also...
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Rehan Udupi
Oppressed Muslims (Ghaza, Syria, Palestine, Burma, etc) -
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whats the name of the father?
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Michael Lederman
Shared publicly -So-Called Palestinians
#socalledpalestinians #palestinians #gaza #westbank #plo #palestinainauthority #hamas #terrorists
#socalledpalestinians #palestinians #gaza #westbank #plo #palestinainauthority #hamas #terrorists
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Sun shine
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Sun shine
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+Danish shah waikomassalam bro
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The Palestine Children's Relief Fund
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The second week of May saw the Little Wings Foundation from the UAE return to the European Gaza Hospital to provide pediatric orthopedic surgery on children with traumatic or birth defects. The PCRF has partnered with Little Wings in treating children in the UAE and on sponsoring volunteer missions to the West Bank and Gaza...
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Riad Nahawi
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Very very nice academic team Little Wings
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