Displaced Palestinian in Rafah Makes Local Potato Chips Competing with Israel’s
(AWP) - A displaced young Palestinian man has set up a project to make potato chips in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, offering children a chance to munch their favorite crunchy snack.
Children can buy the local product at much lower prices than the imported chips in Rafah, which has suffered from a scarcity of basic essentials since 7 October, as a result of the blockade imposed by Israel.
Mus’ab Hijela said his project to produce potato chips helps him support his family, and at the same time brings joy to displaced children, who cannot afford to buy imported chips.
“I have set up this job opportunity to make a living. It is a project to produce potato chips to sell on the market,” he added.
“The price of a pack of chips available on the market is usually no less than 10-15 shekels (15 shekels roughly equal $4). Our children cannot afford this. That is why I thought of selling potato chips for only one or two shekels,” noted Hijela.
Ahmed Abu Asy, a displaced Palestinian child, said the chips he buys from Hijela are tastier than the imported ones being sold in the Rafah markets.
“I could buy a pack of imported chips for 15 shekels, but the chips here are better and more delicious. Children can get chips for one, two or three shekels,” he added.
Another displaced child, Mohamed Eissa, said the price of imported chips is 15 shekels.
“We can’t afford to buy them, so we buy chips here. They are fried until they are crunchy. We get them here for only one shekel, which is much less than 15,” he noted.