The Popular Committee Against the Siege (PCAS) estimated losses due to the continuation of the Israeli blockade on Gaza at about $ 1.5 billion during the year 2020.
Jamal Al-Khudari the head of the PCAS said in a statement on Thursday that the current year 2020 was the most dangerous ever. The continuation of the blockade for the 14th consecutive year brought the humanitarian health and economic situation into a difficult catastrophic situation while the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic increased the deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
Khudari explained that the blockade and the spread of the coronavirus threaten food security in the Gaza Strip. More than 85% of the population live below the poverty line while unemployment rates have risen to 60% indicating that more than 350000 workers are unemployed.
He stressed that the acute shortage of medical consumables medicines and respirators threaten the lives of the two million Palestinians living in Gaza.
He pointed out that 80% of the factories have been closed since the beginning of the blockade while the production rate in the factories that operate has decreased to 20%.
The occupation and the siege are preventing the entry of raw materials necessary for industry and restricting the importation and exportation he elaborated.
Khudari called on the international community to move quickly and urgently to save Gaza and support it stressing the need to lift the siege on the Strip. “This requires an international effort and a unified Palestinian plan capable of overcoming this dangerous situation” he underlined.
