Israeli Products Flood Gaza Markets Amid Calls for Boycott
(AWP) - Palestinian sellers and shoppers in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, are left with little choice but to deal in incoming Israeli products, even as calls to boycott them grow louder.
Tarek Badwan, a stall owner in the streets of Rafah says that he opposes Israeli products in principle but is forced to sell them in the absence of goods throughout the besieged strip.
He notes the low demand for Israeli products, attributing this not only to their source but also to their high prices.
Badwan added with disappointment, “People’s situation has gone below zero. We do not know where this life will lead us. We have surrendered our fate to the Almighty. We do not expect anything from anyone, neither Arabs nor Muslims. The only one with us is the Almighty.”
Seraj Ahmed Nofal, a Palestinian boy, who fled Gaza City to the Strip’s central region before escaping the Israeli bombardment once again towards Rafah, expressed fear that the Israeli products could “contain poison or bombs to kill the Palestinian people.”
Nofal added, “We were displaced from Gaza City to the central region and came to Rafah, scattering left and right to escape from the Israelis. The products that reach us from Israel are sold to us to buy bombs to kill us.”
Displaced Palestinian Nesreen Abu Askar said that Israeli products have become the only option for Gaza residents following the closure of the Rafah crossing.
The 32-year-old said, “I support the boycott of Israeli goods because the revenue goes to the Israeli army, which buys weapons with it to fight and kill our children, and the victim are us, of course.”
She believes the solution lies in pressuring Israeli to reopen the crossings and stop the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which has been raging for over eight months.
She said, “They should close the Israeli [Kerem Shalom] crossing and open the main [Rafah] crossing for us, for life, and pressure to get us out of this ordeal. The solution is alternative Arab products. Gaza basically did not need anyone; we had lands to cultivate and factories that produced, but they destroyed everything.”