Official in Tubas: Governorate suffered great losses due to occupation’s measures and its policy of collective punishment

TUBAS: The director of the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry in Tubas Governorate, Mu'in Sawafta, said that the governorate suffered great losses due to the Israeli occupation's measures and its policy of collective punishment, especially due to the restrictions and closures of al-Hamra and Tayaseer military checkpoints. According to the Department of Public Relations and Media in the Ministry of National Economy, the agricultural sector, which is one of the largest sectors in the governorate, recorded 70% losses, especially in the first days of the aggression on Gaza as a result of farmer's inability to sell their products within the 1948-occupied land and the decrease in overseas exports. He stressed that before the start of the occupation's aggression on October 7, 3023, the governorate was exporting to the United States, Belarus and Britain, and was the highest-ranked in terms of certificates of origin, which have seen a marked decline since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip. In the industrial sector, Sawafta maintained that the occupation forces' hindrance to the entry of raw materials needed to operate production facilities in the governorate has caused a decline in the production capacity and the volume of labor and an increase in the cost of production. The commercial sector was also greatly affected, he added, stressing that the deterioration of the economic situation was a major factor in the closure of many small and micro enterprises, especially women-led enterprises. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA