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Aid poured into fixing mosques while Gazans live in tents

Enormous funds are being funneled into the reconstruction of destroyed mosques in private projects that are directed by the donors themselves, with money Hamas cannot redirect toward housing displaced Gazans.
A Palestinian man rides his bicycle in front of a mosque on a stormy day in Gaza January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem  - RTX22XLX

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Every time Israel wages war on Gaza, it targets mosques under the justification that the Palestinian resistance uses their basements to store weapons. The Ministry of Religious Endowments in the Gaza Strip is raising funds for the reconstruction of destroyed mosques, which will cost millions of dollars.

Many Gazans denounce the collection of these enormous sums to rebuild grandiose mosques in a city whose residents are burdened by poverty, unemployment and destruction. The population in Gaza is almost 2 million, 40% of which live below the poverty line and 43% suffer from unemployment, according to the Euro-Med Monitor.

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