(New York Times) Greg Myre - When Israel left Gaza last year, Palestinian businessmen dreamed of new investments and an economic revival. Instead, conditions deteriorated so sharply that dozens of factories are closing or relocating to Egypt and other Arab states. Since the beginning of the year, 48 of the 60 factories in an industrial park near the Karni crossing have shut, at least temporarily. Some businessmen acknowledge that the election victory in January by Hamas and internal feuding have prompted their decisions to seek out a more stable place to do business. "The Gaza Strip is full of thugs these days," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al Azhar University.
2006-07-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive