AL-WAHDA, Gaza Strip — The Israeli blockade that has gripped the Gaza Strip for eight years now is a major obstacle to public libraries, preventing them from modernizing their bookshelves and displaying new products from international publishers.
Few people frequent libraries in Gaza when school is in session compared with the summer and winter vacations, since students are bound to a heavy curriculum and are preoccupied with exams and school duties. It should be noted that the Ministry of Education had tried on numerous occasions to modify the school curriculum and develop it in line with Palestinian students' situations and circumstances.