Saudi helps feed 900 Gaza families

P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News

JEDDAH: A Saudi philanthropist is supporting a major international charitable project aimed at creating 60,000 jobs for Palestinians in Gaza and also improving their social and economic conditions.

The Saudi, who requested anonymity, gave a generous donation to the project through the World Assembly of Muslim Youth’s (WAMY) office in Jeddah.

“The philanthropist’s donation will help employ 900 Palestinians and feed more than 7,000 members of their families,” WAMY said in a statement.

The project, named Takaful, is being carried out by a group of charitable organizations from Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Europe and other parts of the world, explained a WAMY official.

“The project, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, has been instrumental in alleviating the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel,” the official said.

Under the program, a number of agricultural, animal, dairy and health projects are being implemented in Gaza to create jobs for Palestinians and strengthen the region’s economy.

Ahmed Al-Kurd, coordinator of Takaful, spoke about the difficult social and economic situation in Gaza as a result of the Israeli blockade and its atrocities against the people living there. Al-Kurd said about 90 percent of people in Gaza — which has a population of 1.5 million — are living in poverty while 80 percent of them are unemployed.

“The Palestinian people in Gaza have to depend on foreign assistance as a result of unemployment caused by closure of factories and other productive institutions,” Al-Kurd said.

The Takaful Program, which began in March and continues for six months, aims to employ 10,000 Palestinians every month and a total of 60,000 during the program period. It will enable Palestinians to look after at least 350,000 of their family members.

“About 10 percent of these jobs will be allocated to university graduates,” Al-Kurd said.

According to an Amnesty International report, the situation in the Gaza Strip has worsened in recent months since Israel imposed strict restrictions on the movement of goods and people in response to Hamas’ takeover of the area in June 2007.

“Over a million people — 80 percent of families — in the Strip are currently dependent on food rations from international aid agencies, compared to 63 percent of families in 2006,” the Amnesty report said.

Additionally, the number of trucks allowed to enter Gaza a day currently stands at only 45, compared to an average of 250 in the past. The Israeli ban on the transfer of raw materials has led to the freezing of 95 percent of industrial projects.

The closure of the Strip and the collapse of the local economy have also contributed to a sharp increase in food prices.

In 2007, Gazans spent 62 percent of their incomes on food supplies, compared to only 37 percent in 2004. The prices of flour and milk climbed 34 and 30 percent respectively between May and July 2007.


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