Another Luxury Mall Opens its Doors in Gaza

February 27, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

27 February 2017 | Say the name “Gaza” and many the world over will automatically have mental pictures of abject poverty, suffering and lack. The international media does, after all, paint the situation in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave as exceptionally dire, calling it “the world’s largest outdoor prison” and even comparing the living conditions to those in a concentration camp.

Yet last week, Associated Press reported on another luxury Western-style mall opening its doors for the residents of Gaza’s shopping pleasure. The glossy 1,899 square meter (19,000 square feet) structure, called Capital Mall, sports, amongst others, an international retail chain store, a plush three-story bookstore, outlets for make-up and perfume as well as a home décor store. The gleaming glass building also offers a clinic, office space and two parking lots for shoppers. The busiest area in the mall is, however, the food court, where advertisements of tasty treats like cheeseburgers and ice-cream sundaes tempt shoppers’ taste buds.

Pictures accompanying the Associated Press report show shoppers browsing the bustling retail outlets or taking the escalators from one floor to the other and smartly dressed baristas serving customers in the food court. According to reports, the entire structure is air conditioned.

“We made this according to international standards to relay an image to the world that Gaza has a mall similar to the malls in other countries,” explains Mahmoud Haniya, Capital Mall’s executive director.

Capital Mall is the largest mall in the Gaza Strip. Two smaller facilities opened its doors in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Yet the message behind the report and pictures of Gazans enjoying the delights offered by the Capital Mall goes well beyond that of a new shopping destination opening its doors.

According to Israellycool, one of Israel’s largest English blogs, it offers the international community “a glimpse into the real Gaza, which is anything but a concentration camp as some claim.”

“While Hamas and their willing accomplices in the mainstream media and anti-Israel organizations continue to perpetuate the lie that Gaza is a “concentration camp” – replete with widespread starvation and suffering,” writes blogger Dave Lan, the report and pictures stand as proof to the true state of affairs.

“My point is not that there is no hardship in Gaza,” Lan continues, “but rather that the situation is a far cry from what is being presented by the Palestinians, their supporters and the mainstream media.”

While Israel maintains a limited blockade of the Gaza Strip, it serves as an essential security buffer that aims to prevent weapons, fighters and explosives from reaching the Hamas terror organization.  The partial blockade was initiated in 2006, when Hamas kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. A year later the Jewish state was forced to strengthen the blockade, as the Islamist terror organization seized control of the coastal enclave, turning Gaza into a launching pad for rocket and terror attacks against Israeli civilians.

Despite Hamas makes no secret of its intention to eliminate the Jewish State, Israel continues to go to great lengths to facilitate the entry of supplies into the Gaza Strip for the benefit of the civilian population. Every week, tons of food products as well as clothing, school supplies, medicines and medical supplies, animal feed and hygiene products reach Gaza via Israel. The Jewish state also facilitates the entry of various commodities, including toys, cosmetics, housewares, sweets and cakes – according to vendors’ demands.

Israel did, however, suspend cement shipments headed for the Gaza Strip in 2016, after it was revealed that Hamas confiscated 95% of the cement shipments to be used for military installations, including terror tunnels. The shipments were reinstated a month later.

At present, the only good Israel restrict from entering the Gaza Strip are weapons, materials used in manufacturing explosives and items that have military as well as civilian applications.

Posted on February 27, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 27 February 2017)

Photo Credit: Screenshot/YouTube/hemaassaf93