GAZA: Resourceful carpenters in Gaza are using shipping pallets to make much-needed basic furniture and circumvent an Israeli ban on imports of wood.
In a workshop in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, skilled workers dismantle used pallets and scrap wood to make bedframes, cupboards and shelves for families displaced by fighting,.
Mohammed Wafi, 34, a carpenter for 16 years, said pallets became one of the few available sources of wood when limited aid trucks began entering Gaza. Demand for his handiwork has grown as displaced Palestinians basic furniture.
“Today people say, ‘I just need something to get by, something to get my clothes off the floor,' especially those in tents,” he said. “Due to the rats and cockroaches, they need a tent or a bed to be lifted off the ground.” he said.
Rats and parasites are spreading through Gaza’s tent encampments, biting people as they sleep, gnawing through possessions and spreading disease. Israel bans the import of wood into Gaza because they claim it has dual civilian and military uses.
Prices for other carpentry essentials are also rising. “We used to get a kilo of nails for 5 shekels ($1.70). Today, it costs up to 130 shekels," Wafi said.
Mohammed Tayseer, who lives in a tent near Khan Younis, slept on the ground until recently. “The ground is sandy and dirty, and as you can see, you find the clothes full of sand. There are rats and mice,” he said. “My back hurts and is stiff from sleeping on the floor … but now we have a bed.”
