Israel Matzav

Hamas' innovative way to eradicate poverty

We all know that the word 'impoverished' always precedes 'Gaza Strip.' But apparently, Hamas' rulers have decided that poverty isn't good for investment, so they've come up with an innovative way to eradicate it: They're arresting beggars.

On May 24, the director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs of the General Investigation Department of the Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, Imad Harb, announced in a press statement to Safa Press Agency the arrest of 72 beggars, including 42 children in the streets of Gaza. The arrests were part of the campaign launched May 8 by the Ministry of Social Affairs in Gaza in cooperation with the Palestinian police and the Ministry of Culture to fight begging and arrest beggars in Gaza’s streets.

Harb said in his statement that the problem of beggars is being addressed by making them sign pledges not to return to the streets after their arrest. In case the beggar returns to panhandling, the necessary legal measures will be taken for violation of Article 193 of the 1936 Palestinian Penal Code. According to this article, begging is an illegitimate source of income, and beggars are punished with a one-month prison sentence the first time they are caught and a one-year sentence the second time.

However, this campaign has sparked controversy in the Palestinian street, as some questioned its effectiveness in light of the poor living conditions and the government’s failure to address its causes, namely the high poverty and unemployment rates.

Meanwhile, some believe that this campaign is important given that there are panhandlers who are not in need and who have just opted for begging to make money.

And I'm sure Hamas knows just who those panhandlers are....

But hey - no way to blame Israel for this one, so what difference does it make?

Labels: Gaza, Gaza plenty, Hamas

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:36 AM