A new Israeli policy permits people in The Gaza Strip to sell old metal and send it to Israel for processing. Gaza is a Palestinian area bordering Israel and Egypt. The territory has an estimated 49 percent unemployment rate. Many old cars from Israel were sent to the northern part of Gaza many years ago. These cars stayed at junkyards, places where old things that are no longer used are stored. Gaza does not have the factories needed to melt down and process the metal waste. Palestinian merchants estimate that 200,000 tons of metal waste has built up near Gaza’s border since an Israeli-led blockade of the territory started in 2007. Last October, however, Israeli officials cleared the waste metal for export to a crushing factory inside Israel. The move has brought revenue and jobs to the poor area.
What is a merchant?
an officer in the Navy
an owner or supervisor of a store or small business
a mall
a small ice rink
What does the new Israeli policy allow?
the formation of a new government
a peace treaty
the export of old metal from Gaza to Israel
the selling of religious artifacts
The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian area.
Palestinian area
Israeli restaurant
wealthy town in Egypt
large construction site