Gaza: a rapid improvement that moves slowly
Palestine, Local, 11/10/1997

The passage through Israel's roadblock into the Gaza Strip has never changed. Every visitor going to Gaza has to have a prior permit issued by the Israeli military. And those permits are available only to certain categories of people such as journalists and businessmen, not to ordinary people. Until the issue of safe passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is solved in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, those restrictions are expected to remain.

At the heavily-guarded roadblock which has turned into a military base separating two divided entities, soldiers ask for identification papers and order visitors to walk through the one mile way down to the so-called passport control booth. Foreign diplomats and staff of foreign agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and many other non-governmental aid agencies are allowed to drive their own cars into Gaza and out of it, but not before they are thoroughly checked by the Israeli military.

A Palestinian policeman manning the other side of the "border" greeted a group of French visitors and then turned to three Palestinians going into Gaza. "Where are you from?" he asked and was told that they had come from Jerusalem. They all were journalists who were on their way to Gaza. "Welcome to Gaza. How is Jerusalem. We all miss this holy and beloved city," he said as he pointed to a waiting taxi to pick up the three and drive them into Gaza.

The last time I was in Gaza was some two weeks ago. Not a long period but as far as changes are concerned, it felt like ages. Everyday in Gaza there is something new completed. All renovation works seem to be taking place round the clock. Gaza Mayor Own Shawa who took office three years ago, shortly after the PLO's return to Gaza and the creation of the PA, admits that there is still a lot to do in the city. Said Shawa: "We have done a lot in the past three years, but plenty of work is still ahead of us. But we are running through a financial crisis. We are still waiting for more donations from the outside world to cover the cost of outstanding projects in the city."

Shawa noted that 30 years of Israeli military occupation of the Gaza Strip has caused almost an irreparable damage to the Gaza Strip. He said that all renovation works have in fact been a recreation of the damaged infrastructure. "It seemed as if we have started right from the very beginning. And sure, a damage caused in three decades cannot be repaired in three years."

Policemen man most of the major intersections in Gaza city. Traffic lights have been installed, most of them donated by France. A taxi driver was ordered to stop aside and a policeman approached him asking why didn't he stop his car by the stop sign that marked the crossroad he had just passed. The driver said he did not mean to break the law, but he saw the intersection was empty and decided to carry on. The policeman let him go after he warned that there won't be a next time. "If I catch you again doing the same offense, I will not only write a fine but even take you to court. What you have done is extremely dangerous not only to you but also to lots of people in the street." The driver left without a word, though with a wide smile on his face.

In most of the world's countries, 50 percent of traffic fines are allotted to municipal budgets, but not in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. Shawa said that his municipality has always to look for ways of self-dependence since it does not receive from the PA the money it believes it is entitled to take from revenues of traffic fines, property taxes and cars licensing fees. Most of the money comes from services the municipality renders to the population, in addition to revenues of selling water and electricity to the residents.

Besides, many of the projects that the municipality has finalized and is still working on are financed by the donor countries, which, after the signing of the interim peace agreement between the PLO and Israel promised to aid the PA with US $2.6 billion over a period of five years. According to municipality sources the city of Gaza needs at least US $1 billion. Now, donations from various parts of the world pour into Gaza but their continuation cannot be taken for granted. Should the donor countries cease to pay, many of those projects may have to stop. The Palestinian government has no money to finance development projects and the Palestinians will have to look for alternative sources of financial aid.

The streets in Gaza are relatively clean, thanks to initiatives by the municipality and the government which decided to employ on daily basis an army of unemployed Palestinians who lost their place of work in Israel because of the continued closure imposed by Israel on the Palestinian territories. "They pay us the minimum. Yet we have no choice but to work here. First we earn some money that can help us to carry on and secondly, we contribute to the national effort of building our state," said Mohammed, formerly a waiter in Tel Aviv. Painting the white crossing lines across one of the streets in the city, Mohammed said the problem is not how much he is paid but the short duration of his work, which does not guarantee a respected income by the end of the month.

Previous Stories:
  Talks to resume. Israel warns against MENA expectations   (11/7/1997)
  Olive trees harvest hit by man and nature   (11/6/1997)
  Restrictions keep Palestinians from West Bank universities   (10/28/1997)

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