Six years after it was imposed, Israel’s ongoing blockade continues to cause hardships for Gaza-based industries. Despite Israel easing the blockade after the flotilla raid in 2010, Gaza traders continue to face serious hardships, including the inability to bring in raw materials or machinery needed to run factories and warehouses.
"When I need a certain machine to keep my factory running, I go myself to the country from which I ordered that machine and do training there for several weeks, simply because Israel has not allowed experts to come in the Gaza Strip to help us run such machines. This restriction has been in place since Israel enforced its blockade on the Gaza Strip,” Mohammad al-Telbani, owner of a leading wafer and chocolate factory in the Gaza Strip, told Al-Monitor.
