Israeli Siege Snuffing Out Gaza's Camel Industry
Camel production in Gaza is suffering from a lack of available grazing lands and continued instability with Israel, Rami Almeghari reports.
Salama Jbara, a long-time camel rider and breeder, participated last Friday [Feb. 8] in a camel marathon near the destroyed and abandoned Gaza International Airport in the southern city of Rafah.
Salama's camel and 12 others took part in the race, which many consider here a part of the local culture that some tribes, including the Malalha, al-Semairy and Abu Amra, continue to preserve despite years of turmoil that have reduced camel production in Gaza.
"For almost 30 years now, I have been raising camels at my home in the Shuka village as I belong to the Malalha Bedouin tribe, which originated from the historical Palestinian desert city of Beer Assaba, in south Palestine, and is now called the Israeli city of Beer Sheva," Salama told Al-Monitor in the land of the Gaza International Airport, which Israel destroyed a decade ago.
Within the vicinity of the airport, 12 camels ran for the second time this year in five heats. Salama's camel did not win the race, but another Shuka village-based camel did.
