Thanks to Israeli policy, the people of Gaza have run out of money, literally.
Cash has been in short supply here since 2007. That’s when the Islamist group Hamas forcibly took control of Gaza. Israel then imposed a strict blockade that limits trucks taking cash from bank headquarters in the West Bank to branches in Gaza. Israel, the U.S. and the E.U. consider Hamas a terrorist organization and don’t want money getting into its hands. Over the last few months, the shekel embargo has tightened. And Gaza-based economist Khaled Abdel Shafi says banks are at rock bottom.