Ref: 54/2021

Date: 6 October 2021

On Tuesday, 05 October 2021, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) organized a workshop titled as ” Destruction of Economic Infrastructure and Implications of Delayed Reconstruction on Gaza Population’s Economic Rights.” The workshop was attended by representatives from the National Economy Ministry, Agriculture Ministry, Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI), Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and Civil Society Organizations as well as owners of destroyed economic installations and academics. This workshop was held to discuss the impact of destroyed economic installations and their delayed reconstruction on the economic conditions in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli Occupation Forces targeted civilian objects, including the economic installations of different sectors in the 2021 offensive.

Dr. Fadel al-Muzaini, Head of the Economic and Social Rights’ Unit at PCHR, opened the workshop reviewing the consequences of the latest offensive on Gaza civilians’ economic and social rights.  He stressed that the Israeli occupation intended to target installations of different economic sectors; thereby aggravating the already devastated economic situation in the Gaza strip that has been under closure for 15 years.  Al-Muzaini emphasized that targeting economic installations is a blatant violation of all international laws and conventions, which guarantee protection for civilian objects during military operations.

Ayman Lubbad, a researcher, reviewed the report published by PCHR and titled as “Destruction of Economic Infrastructure during the May 2021 Israeli Military Offensive.” He highlighted the statistics presented in the report and covering all the economic installations affected by IOF’s targeting of factories, craft shops, commercial stores, and tourist facilities as well as agricultural lands, deteriorating the economic situation in Gaza and entrenching the suffering of different economic sectors that have been significantly affected by the Israeli closure for 15 years.  Lubbad added that all of this combined has caused complete disruption of the Gaza Strip’s economy during the offensive over lack of access to the different economic facilities.  As a result, the gross domestic product for this year has declined by 3% comparing with last year.  This serious deterioration has worsened the conditions of the economic facilities that have lost 50% of its operational capacity before the offensive due to the ongoing closure and tightened restrictions on the movement of Gaza Strip’s exports and imports.      

Dr. Raed al-Jazzar, General Director of Industry at the Ministry of Economy, reviewed the Ministry’s role in the reconstruction of the economic installations and highlighted its mechanisms used to ring-fence losses of the May 2021 offensive.  Dr. al-Jazzar added that the Ministry formed a committee of PFI and UNDP to audit and estimate the data and then accrediting it and to ascertain that each owner of the affected facility is informed of the actual damage. Dr. al-Jazzar stressed that the Ministry allowed those objecting to appeal and the objection rate was 16%.  Dr. al-Jazzar said that the refurbishment of affected installations with a USD 6000 grant has already started as many received their grants over the last 2 weeks, with a total amount of 1.5 million dollars to the different economic sectors. He pointed out that the available financial grants constitute 15% of the total 30 million dollar, which is the financial losses of the economic installation within the industrial, commercial, and service sectors.

Eng. Wael Thabet, Director of the Planning and Policy Division at the Ministry of Agriculture, elaborated on the Israeli occupation’s impact on one of the most important sectors since 2000, as the agricultural sector constitutes 5% of the local production, and employs about 55,000 workers who were seriously affected during the last Israeli offensive. Thabet highlighted that the agricultural sector needs 3 to 9 years to recover from the Israeli offensive, and the tightened restrictions imposed after the offensive reflected negatively on the agricultural sector and deepened the sufferings of farmers, owners of agricultural facilities and fish sector. This led to a significant increase in the chickens and vegetables’ prices. Furthermore, Thabet confirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture calculated 7,000 farmers who were harmed by IOF measures and offensive; the Ministry’s efforts are focused on resource mobilization to revive the agricultural sector and compensate the affected civilians.

Eng. Khader Shniwra, Executive Director of the General Federation of Palestinian Industries, talked about the losses of the industrial facilities during the Israeli offensive, and mentioned the heavy losses of the industrial sector during the previous offensives, which did not enjoy the opportunities of reconstruction like all other sectors. Shniwra reviewed the accomplished portions of the reconstruction plans over the past years, highlighting the sector’s concern that the status quo will be maintained. Shniwra confirmed that the Israeli occupation targeted the industrial area “Padico,” a complex of industrial facilities employing 5,000 individuals, costing thousands their jobs. Shniwra confirmed that international parties promised the Palestinian Federation of Industries that the damaged facilities will be revived; however, these promises are yet to materialize on the ground.

Dr. Salama Abu Zu’iter, member of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), addressed the Israeli offensive’s effects on workers. He stressed the catastrophic impact it had on workers, as it deepened their suffering, especially daily workers,  the most vulnerable worker-group. Abu Zu’iter demanded compensation for the workers for the losses they sustained, and to enhance their social security via risk funds intended for that purpose. This is imperative as businessowners who themselves are harmed, cannot offer compensation, especially when pairing the consequences of the military aggression with the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Abu Zu’iter called upon the government authorities to exempt affected workers from fees for basic services, particularly health insurance.

At the end of the conference, the crowd joined in a lively discussion, where owners of affected facilities demanded that reconstruction commences as soon as possible, for establishments damaged in the May 2021 military offensive and prior ones as well. They demanded that the industrial sector be placed as a top priority in any reconstruction efforts in order to halt the increasing unemployment and poverty rates and protect the Gaza population’s economic and social rights. The participants also recommended that cross-ministerial coordination be considered to facilitate public access to their economic and social rights. Also, the participants demanded legal action vis-à-vis the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to spare economic infrastructure, civilian facilities, and houses during military operations; all protected establishments under international law.