Projects worth $124m halted due to tightening of Israeli siege on Gaza

Some 156 infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip have been halted because of the tightening of the Israeli siege, Palestinian Minister of Local Governing Mohammed Al-Farra said yesterday.

The 156 projects worth $124 million are supported by foreign donors and they have been halted as a direct consequence of the eight year Israeli siege on the Strip.

Israel continues to impose strict measures on the entrance of construction materials into the Gaza Strip. In wake of the military coup last July, Egypt launched a massive campaign on the tunnels which Gazans used to smuggle construction materials, as an alternative to the Israeli crossings.

Al-Farra called for the international community to put pressure on the Israeli occupation in order to lift the siege on Gaza and allow construction projects and fuel entry into the area in order to resume work on urgent infrastructure projects.

Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are unable to build new homes or renovated existing buildings because of the Israeli blockade on construction materials and fuel.