On his stall which has different varieties and colors of olives Abu Suleiman Kawaree in his 70s wonders about the current situation of people who face a difficulty to survive. He keeps thinking about their inability to buy olives as they used to do in the past years because of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for years and due to cutting up to 30% of the salaries of the Palestinian Authority employees.
Kawaree made a cigarette skillfully while talking to the PIC reporter sipping some of the tea he had prepared on firewood near his place.
At one of the corners of the famous olive market in Khan Younis to the south of the Gaza Strip Kawaree said after he puffed his bad-smelling cigarette “The season is getting worse every year because of the lack of liquidity and the deterioration of the economic situation in the coastal enclave” he said.
At the end of the season the Khan Younis olive market gets packed with multiple varieties of the blessed olives while sellers suffer from the lack of demand.
As soon as the olive harvest begins in October every year dozens of olive sellers come to the market making use of this season based on people’s preferences who like to make olive pickles.
At another corner Mohammed Abu Jazar 46 laments people’s inability to buy the basic house needs expressing his desire that the path of reconciliation will be a good omen for the Palestinian people in general and the poor class in the Gaza Strip in particular.
Abu Mahdi Abdin is not much different from other sellers. In the past they used to buy large amounts of olives and they would sell them on the same day but these days they are suffering financial losses as they buy amounts of olives that get spoiled without being sold.
He pointed out that there is no demand for olives whether cheap or expensive wishing that conditions of people will get better so that they could buy olives and the olive sellers could provide a living for their children.
The Gaza Strip is famous for three varieties of olives: Al-Surri Al-Shamali and K18 in addition to other varieties including: Thuhairi Biz Italian Nabali and the Tafhatin.
Palestinians in Gaza prefer the Surri olive which is used for pickling and oil pressing. Al-Shamali is used for oil pressing and is cultivated in the southern Gaza Strip. So is K18 which is very often used for oil pressing.
