Salah Afana’s cattle business usually booms with the approach of the Muslim feast of the sacrifice. But this year he’s hit a snag: He’s out of cows.
Afana, Gaza’s largest cattle trader, has been unable to import cows since Israel shut the strip’s borders last month in response to Palestinian rocket fire. He has since sold all his stock — less than half of what he sold last year — and is turning customers away.
The Gaza-wide shortage of cows and sheep for slaughter is one of many disappointments Gazans face before Eid al-Adha, the most important holiday in the Muslim calendar.
The four-day holiday, which began yesterday, is supposed to be one of the year’s most joyful, but nothing is as it should be, Gazans say.
An Israeli blockade on the ruling Hamas government has caused shortages of basic goods and Palestinian political squabbling has kept thousands of would-be pilgrims from traveling to Mecca.
On top of that, their banks have run out of currency, depriving thousands of civil servants of salaries.
It’s a sharp contrast to Bethlehem, in the West Bank, which after several bleak years is finally getting a Christmas season to cheer about. Hotels are booked solid, Manger Square outside Christ’s traditional birthplace is already bustling with tourists, and Palestinian and Israeli security forces are working together to keep the peace.
“We’re under siege, the pilgrims can’t get out, and there’s no money. How can we celebrate the holiday?” said Mahmoud Khozendar, a Gaza doctor.
Eid al-Adha commemorates the readiness of Abraham — Ibrahim to Muslims — to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, who stays his hand and provides a lamb instead. Muslims traditionally slaughter an animal on the holiday to commemorate Abraham’s sacrifice. The meat is split between the needy and family members.
Gaza has about 10,000 sheep, half of the number needed for the holiday, said Ibrahim al-Kidra of the Agriculture Ministry. The price of a sheep has nearly tripled, to about US$550, and there’s little money available to buy them. For those lucky enough to find a cow, prices have jumped by a third, to about US$2,000 each.
Palestinians gathered outside the Bank of Palestine in central Gaza City on Wednesday, which was supposed to be pay day, hoping to collect at least part of their salaries to cover holiday spending.
“We’re supposed to celebrate, slaughter animals and go out and visit relatives,” said Mohammed al-Lissi, 30, who tried to withdraw money. “But if we can’t get our salaries, we’ll just sit at home.”
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Jihad al-Wazir of the Palestinian Monetary Authority begged Israel to allow his agency to send money to Gaza. He said Gaza’s banks hold 47 million shekels (US$12 million) — less than one-fifth of what is needed to pay the public servants.
Israeli officials say the request is being considered. Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror blamed Hamas, saying cash shipments could quickly resume if the near-daily rocket and mortar attacks on Israel stopped.
Adding to Gazans’ frustrations, Palestinian factional rivalry has prevented thousands of them from traveling to Mecca for the holy hajj pilgrimage, a traditional high point of Muslim life.
Saudi Arabia granted visas only to Gazans approved by Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which rules from the West Bank, and rejected Hamas’ list. So Hamas retaliated by refusing to let any Gazans make the pilgrimage.
Khozendar said he had already paid US$2,200 for the trip, only to find he couldn’t go.
This was his third attempt to perform the hajj. Last year he wanted to take his ailing mother-in-law with him to Mecca but was turned down, and she died of pancreatic cancer two months later, he said.
“I’ll keep trying for a 1,000 years,” said Khozendar, 47. “And even after that, I’ll keep trying.”
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS