GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Private sector institutions in the Gaza Strip threatened April 23 to start acts of economic disobedience by closing commercial crossings and refusing to pay taxes to the Palestinian government authorities. The private sector institutions hope to put pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza in addition to pressuring the Palestinian Authority (PA) to cancel the sanctions imposed on the coastal enclave since April 2017, which culminated this month with the suspension of the salaries of public workers.
In a statement that Al-Monitor secured a copy of, the institutions said, “The Gaza Strip is on the verge of complete collapse in all its vital sectors. There is no longer any room for silence. Gaza is dying. The situation is crumbling down economically, socially and at the health level. The international projects have been disrupted, including projects by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a result of the reduced US aid to Gaza as well as some municipal infrastructure projects. We requested an urgent meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas, but we have yet to receive a response.”
