Hard-hit Gaza eateries pray for ‘holy month of mercy’

Ramadan is traditionally the busiest time of the year for Gaza’s hundreds of eateries, with the number of diners up by as much as 50 percent. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 April 2022
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Hard-hit Gaza eateries pray for ‘holy month of mercy’

  • Dining sector hungry for Ramadan custom after years of crippling losses

GAZA CITY: Struggling restaurants in the Gaza Strip, many still counting the cost of pandemic curfews and now facing a worsening economic crisis, are counting on Ramadan to provide a much-needed boost in revenue.

The holy month is traditionally the busiest time of the year for Gaza’s hundreds of eateries, with the number of diners up by as much as 50 percent.

Local businesses and institutions also provide banquets for employees and sometimes beneficiaries, adding to restaurant trade.

Despite the difficult economic conditions, Gaza residents are returning to restaurants during Ramadan, while restaurant owners are looking forward to the added custom to improve facilities and restore activity.

According to Imad Al-Rayes, manager of the Lighthouse Restaurant on the Gaza beachfront, business during the holy month increases by 40-50 percent compared with normal days.

During the two-year pandemic, the month of Ramadan was the worst ever. Restaurants were closed and we were not allowed to work. But this year seems different — there is increased activity and more work in the restaurant.

Imad Al-Rayes, Manager of the Lighthouse Restaurant

“Since 2018, the economic situation in the Gaza Strip has worsened and there has been a sharp decline in the restaurant’s revenues,” he said

“During the two-year pandemic, the month of Ramadan was the worst ever. Restaurants were closed and we were not allowed to work.

“But this year seems different — there is increased activity and more work in the restaurant.”

The Lighthouse Restaurant employs about 50 staff, but this was cut to about 30 during the pandemic. Now, employee numbers have returned to normal.

Customers during Ramadan are made up mainly of groups from charitable institutions, those looking to enjoy an open buffet, and individuals eating iftar alone by the seashore.

Gaza’s deteriorating economic situation and pandemic lockdowns in recent years forced a number of restaurants to close or scale back their business.

The Gaza Strip suffers from high rates of poverty and unemployment as a result of an Israeli blockade imposed in 2007. Up to 80 percent of the population receives food aid, according to the UN.

Nevertheless, thanks to Palestinians’ generosity, many restaurants are serving large numbers of meals during Ramadan for those organizing banquets for family and friends.

“Ramadan is a good season for everyone,” said Said Kuhail, whose eatery specializes in oriental meals such as rice and grilled chicken, as well as qidra, a traditional Palestinian dish of spiced rice with lamb, chickpeas and garlic.

“Our work increases greatly, as a result of the feasts that Palestinians organize in their homes or in open places for their relatives.”

Kuhail said that on normal days, he hires about 10 workers. “Now, during Ramadan, I have more than 20 workers because of pressure at work.”

The restaurant owner said that he also struggled over the past two years because of pandemic lockdowns and curfews.

Jamil Dahman, 58, said that he invites his extended family, including his brothers, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, to a feast during Ramadan.

“This is the month of mercy, and there is a great reward for inviting fasters during Ramadan. Inviting their relatives is a tradition for most people. Iftar is prepared by specialized restaurants, and usually we cannot prepare food at home because of the large number of invited guests,” Dahman said

Iman Awad, vice chairman of the local restaurant and tourist establishments association, said that he was hoping for the tourism sector, especially restaurants, to recover from the losses of previous years.

“Ramadan is the month of recovery for restaurants, a month of continuous work. The losses have been going on for almost two years, but this year there is hope that restaurants will get back to normal,” she said.

 


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.