Palestinian businessmen in Egypt for Gaza conference

By Ola Atallah and Hani al-Shaer

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – A business delegation from the Gaza Strip crossed the Rafah crossing with Egypt on Sunday to take part on a conference on the current economic situation in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

Hesham Edwan, the director of the Palestinian side of the crossing, said the terminal was opened by Egyptian authorities for one day to allow the 110-strong delegation to cross into Egypt.

Organized by the Cairo-based National Center for Middle East Studies, the conference will discuss the economic situation in Gaza and strategies for improving the dire living conditions there.

“The event will discuss the issue of opening the Rafah crossing for the movement of goods and meeting the needs of Gaza population,” Osama Kheil, a spokesman for the union of contractors in Gaza, told Anadolu Agency.

Last month, the center hosted a conference that was attended by scores of political and academic figures from the Gaza Strip.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has groaned under a crippling Israeli/Egyptian blockade that has deprived its inhabitants of most basic commodities, including food, fuel, medicine and building supplies.

According to a 2015 World Bank report, the nearly decade-long blockade has cut Gaza’s gross domestic product in half and led to one of the highest unemployment rates in the world.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has described the blockade -- first imposed after resistance movement Hamas swept 2006 Palestinian polls -- as "collective punishment".