tinycornerofyourbusiness,”saysal-Assar,whosayshe’s
been shutdownmoretimesthanhecanremember.“How
muchconcrete,whereit’sgoing,thelicensenumberofthe
truck,thedriver—onandonandon.”
Israelcontendstherestrictionsareneededtoreininmili-
tants affiliatedwithHamas,whichhascontrolledGazasince
electionsin2006.Afterthevote,mostoftheinternational
communitycutoffaidtoGaza,andIsraelmovedtoisolatethe
territory,includinga banonsalesofcement.Hamas,which
longadvocatedthedestructionofIsrael,is widelyknownto
haveconstructeda concrete-linedlabyrinthbeneathGazato
storemunitionsandprovideshelterforitsfighters.Andit built
some 30 tunnels—alsoconcrete—intoIsrael.Onsixoccasions,
armedmenmanagedtogetundertheborderandhavekilled
24 Israelisoldiersandkidnappedthreeothers.Israelsays
Gazamilitantshaveusedmetal,fertilizer,andeveneveryday
householditemssuchasammoniaandsugartobuildhome-
maderocketsthattheylaunchatIsraelitownsandcities.After
militantsmurdereda trioofIsraeliteenagersin2014,Israel
launchedwhatit calls“OperationProtectiveEdge,”thethird
suchconflictina half-dozenyears.“Thereis nomorejustwar
thanthisone,”PrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahusaidas
thebombsfellinthesummerof2014.“Wewillnotcomplete
theoperationwithoutneutralizingthetunnels,thesolepur-
poseofwhichis thedestructionofourciviliansandthekill-
ingofourchildren.”Gaza’s1.9millionresidentslonghada standardofliving
higherthaninPalestinianareasoftheWestBank.Inthe1980s
and’90s,manyGazanscommuteddailyintoIsraelforwork,
andPalestiniansabroadinvestedinprojectsaimedatmaking
theterritory’swide,sandybeachesa touristdestination.The
framersofthe 1994 OsloAccordevenenvisionedthe25-mile-
longsliveroflandalongtheMediterraneanasa HongKongor
SingaporeoftheMiddleEast.Butaround2000,afterthestart
oftheSecondIntifada—thePalestinianuprisingpunctuatedby
a waveofsuicidebombingsinIsrael—theIsraelisbegancut-
tingoffaccesstoGaza.
Theeconomyhasbeenina tailspinsince2013,when
Egyptstartedshuttingdownthe1,000-plustunnelsusedto
smuggleeverythingfromcigarettesandchocolatetocars
andcementintoGaza.Inrecentmonths,thesituationhas
deterioratedastensionsbetweenHamasandthePalestinian
Authority,combinedwithcontinuingdisagreementswith
Israel,havesharplycurtailedmoneytransfersintotheter-
ritory.Theroadsarepotholedandrutted.Thewastewater
plantisoverloaded,soit oftendumpsrawsewageintothe
watersalongthebeach.ThenumberofPalestiniansdepen-
dentonfoodaidfromtheUNhasincreasedtoalmost 1 mil-
lion, from about 80,000 in 2000. Unemployment stands
above 50%, and among young people it’s almost 70%. At“Israel has monopolized the
reconstruction”