Palestinian MP Jamal Al-Khodari, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege on Gaza, said yesterday that 2019 was the worst year for Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the Israeli imposed siege 13 years ago.

In a statement, Al-Khodari said that the past year was the worst on both the humanitarian and economic levels, calling on the international community to put more pressure on Israel to end the siege.

“We will intensify our efforts and conduct more contacts with the international community and the free people around the world,” Al Khodari said.

He stressed on the importance of joint pressure by the Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the international community in order to end the Israeli siege, which go against international law which criminalises the use of “collective punishment”.

He noted that 85 per cent of the residents of Gaza live below the poverty line, 250,000 Gaza residents are unemployed, factories operate at 20 per cent of their production capacity and there are severe restrictions on the movement of imports and exports.

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