Tulkarem Moms Sell Jewelry to Feed Kids
International Press Center (press release), Palestinian Territories
TULKAREM, Palestine, June 18, 2006 (IPC) – – In the province of Tulkarem, many Palestinian women, especially the wives of government employees, started selling their wedding jewelry in order to provide enough money to feed their children and buy basic needs for their houses.
Following almost four months of no salaries for government employees since the international community decided to suspend financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in response to Hamas movement’s victory in the January parliamentary elections and formation of a government, the Palestinian territories have witnessed the most disastrous economic situation in a decade.
This also coupled with Israel’s strict ban of Palestinian workers to reach Israel or local farmers to reach their own lands that fall behind the Israeli Apartheid Wall, that snakes through Tulkarem province, where most of the population depends mostly on agriculture income.
One of the wives who was going to sell her jewelry said that her husband, a government employee, has not received his salary for four months now, which forced her to sell her jewelry.
“I consider my jewelry the most precious possession I have, but I must sell them to pay the debts we have to shops, pay the rent and provide the basic needs for the house and our five children,” the woman says.
“The closure policy imposed on us by the [Israeli] occupation forces, as well as the intransigence of the Western countries has caused this financial crisis we are suffering from,” the woman further laments.
A jeweler in Tulkarem City’s main market added that many Palestinians have started selling their jewelry in order to cover the debts they have incurred due to not receiving salaries from the government as well as the unjust Israeli embargo. What further encouraged them to sell their jewelry, the jeweler added, is the rise in gold prices compared with previous periods.
Following the formation of the Hamas-led government, the international community suspended financial aid to the PNA unless Hamas movement fulfills the international conditions of renouncing violence, recognizing Israel and accepting the agreements signed between Israel and the previous government. So far, more than 165,000 Palestinian employees are still waiting to get paid since Hamas formed its government last March.
