When a crowd of people gathered in front of some stores on July 17, I was looking for any affordable food to buy at a market in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza. The owners of the stores were charging exorbitant prices for items that were clearly stolen from aid convoys, and the people were furious.
I witnessed yet another obscene protest two weeks later at the same market. “You thieves, you thieves!” was yelled out in the crowds! and blatantly denigrate the traders.
Without a doubt, store owners are exploiting the famine without mercy and selling aid as if it were a rare luxury item when it is actually meant to be distributed for free. People are taking matters into their own hands because the people have gone too far with it. Price speculators are the subject of protests across Gaza. Shops are being forced to close some locations.
Beyond anything that supply and demand’s forces have dictated, the prices of essential goods have skyrocketed to unimaginable levels. Despite having a limited amount of money to purchase, people can’t explain why goods cost so much. The prices I saw while walking at the market were insane: a kilo (2.2lb) of flour – 40 shekels ($12), a kilo of rice – 60 shekels ($18), a kilo of lentils – 40 shekels ($12), a kilo of sugar – 250 shekels ($73), a litre (1 quart) of cooking oil – 200 shekels ($58).
The usual aid distribution through the United Nations, which must continue uninterrupted in any warzone, has stopped since Israel imposed a complete blockade on Gaza in March.
Israel established humanitarian hubs to allegedly distribute aid in an effort to fend off international criticism. They have only served as death traps, though. Many people who come in to collect aid are shot, and many of them have died or been wounded.
A significant portion of aid trucks are looted once they arrive in Gaza, but the Israeli government has also started allowing in a very small number. The goods are then resold for outrageous prices.
The individuals in charge of this supply of stolen food are powerful traders and brokers who are frequently protected by local powerful figures or profit from indirect cooperation with Israel. These actions don’t occur naturally. They occur within a purposefully created chaos environment. Exploitation has become the norm, not the exception, as a result of the collapse of state institutions and the absence of legal accountability.
The occupation doesn’t just want to show how weak Gaza is, the Palestinians are aware of that. It is actively trying to demonstrate that it is unelected. Closing the borders is insufficient to accomplish this. Gazans must be forced into a constant state of chaos and conflict.
Here, starvation is a crucial tool. Not just kills, but also kills. Additionally, it alters a person’s personality. A starving person gradually loses the ability to think clearly, to judge or restrain themselves from acting against those who, in their opinion, contribute to their suffering, stripped of the bare minimum needed to survive and subjected to daily humiliation.
Every conflict has its own black markets and war profiteers. However, in this instance, the occupying power encourages these criminal activities because it accomplishes its overall objective. Not because it is making money from them. The Palestinians who choose to engage in this type of extortion are driven by lust, extortion, or survival.
The occupation’s goal is precisely this slow unraveling. The Israeli and international media should be quick to accuse the Palestinians of imploding and declare: “Look, the Palestinian people are imploding. They are incapable of self-government. They are not deserving of a state. This is not a sign of a failed nation, in fact. It demonstrates how successfully the occupation has pushed it toward the brink.
Not the people who no longer have control are at fault. Through starvation, the systematic destruction of healthcare and sanitary infrastructure, the deconstruction of state institutions, and the empowerment of criminals, control has been forcibly taken from them.
Gaza won’t, however. People may cry out and protest, be angry, or become desperate, but they always have a moral compass. This outcry stems from collective disagreement. It is a clear sign that society will no longer tolerate betrayal. When Gaza rebuilds, those who raise prices obstinately during times of siege will be held accountable before courts of justice.
It would be wrong to assume that the occupation has defeated the Palestinians, despite the current collapse. Every crisis produces a new awareness. Every betrayal creates new resistance. Palestinians’ overwhelming majority of people reject using them as torturers’ tools. They oppose erasure and subjugation. They disapprove of the actions of their fellow citizens.
Palestinians continue to demonstrate national solidarity.
