Ramallah: The devastating 50-day war with Israel has resulted in a housing crisis in Gaza — with rents spiralling and landlords demanding proof that their tenants are not Hamas operatives.
According to Talal Okal, a Gaza-based commentator and political analyst, the available housing units in Gaza do not meet the requirements of those whose houses and apartments were destroyed in the Israeli attacks.
“Rent costs have increased by at least 50 per cent all over the Strip since the end of the Israeli assault on Gaza and the increase is expected to rise even further in the near future,” he told Gulf News.
He said that potential tenants insist on renting apartments in Gaza’s western and Mediterranean sectors. They are avoiding sectors which would be the initial Israeli targets in the event of the resumption of fighting in the coastal enclave.
“The people in Gaza have suffered a serious decline in supply of residential units in the Strip and that has been reflected in all aspects of life,” he said, adding that a two-bedroom apartment in a desirable area would cost about $500 (Dh1,835) a month at the moment.
Okal said that restoring Gaza back to normality could take a long time and is subject to political hindrances and these factors have also made it extremely difficult to find an available apartment in the Strip.
Hamas has offered homeless families whose houses were destroyed a $1,000 rent allowance. However, the amount offered by the Islamist movement has proved insufficient.
Dangerous phenomenon
Meanwhile, a potential tenant often needs to prove to a landlord that he was not a Hamas fighter and that he does not have anything to do with Hamas military activities. Mousa Abu Marzouq, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, said on his Facebook page that Gaza-based landlords have been refusing to rent apartments to Hamas members and their families to prevent their properties from being targeted by Israeli jets in future fighting.
Abu Marzouq said that this was a very dangerous phenomenon and that Gaza-based landlords should reconsider their course of action with immediate effect. “The Gaza- based landlords are punishing the resistance fighters and their families,” he said on his Facebook page.
“This is what the Israeli occupation wanted when its jets targeted the houses of the fighters,” he said.
Okal said that the Islamist movement cannot do anything about the attitude of the landlords. “The landlords are worried and fear their properties will be razed to the ground and so there will be no chance they will rent to Hamas fighters,” he said.
