Rapid spread of gas stations fuels controversy in Gaza

Gas stations are increasingly being invested in under the degenerating economic and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, pointing at conflicting interests between Gaza’s Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Ministry of Local Government.
JABALIYA, GAZA - MARCH 29: A Palestinian woman walks past a petrol pump at a fuel station on March 29, 2010 in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip. Fuel in Gaza is supplied primarily from the tunnels via Egypt, but is of poor quality. Nearly all goods for sale in Gaza have been smuggled from Egypt via smuggling tunnels, bringing in food, fuel, livestock, motorcycles and medicine. Gaza's economy and employment levels have plummeted since the Israelis imposed a blockade after Hamas seized control in 2007. (Photo by Warrick
A Palestinian woman walks past a petrol pump at a fuel station, Jabaliya, Gaza, Mar. 29, 2010. - Warrick Page/Getty Images
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Rasha Abou Jalal
@rashaaboujalal1
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Many gas stations have recently opened in the Gaza Strip with local investors increasingly interested in this business, amid the worsening industrial, trade and development sectors that have resulted from the ongoing Israeli blockade and recurring wars.

Mahmoud al-Shawa, the chairman of Gaza's Petroleum and Gas Station Owners Association, told Al-Monitor there are 40 gas stations in Gaza City, out of a total of 300 throughout Gaza. There were 19 in Gaza City prior to May 2014.

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