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Fertilizer shortages hamper rocket fire (a lesson in Gaza economics)
Shortages in fertilizers used by Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip to produce makeshift rockets have led to a decrease in the number of rockets fired towards Israel. Ynet found that Palestinian terror groups prefer to save their rockets for rainy days. But rockets continued to be fired towards Israel on Sunday, with three rockets landing in the western Negev.The shortages have been blamed on Egypt's clampdown on smugglers operating along the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel's closure of border crossings used to transfer goods into the coastal territory. The price of a kilo of fertilizer rose from $20 to $50. Palestinian activists confirmed the shortages to Ynet but said they still had large quantities of rockets stored in secret caches. "In addition to the smugglings, our people are producing a similar substitute. But the shortages also apply to materials we use to produce fertilizers and substitutes to it and therefore there is a crisis and the situation is difficult," one activist said. The shortage led Hamas gunmen to storm the Fatah-affiliated al-Azhar University where they confiscated dozens of kilos of fertilizers. Terror groups also face shortages in steel used to build the rockets. The price of a steel rod rose from NIS 120 to NIS 800. "God willing our men will find other alternatives. The most important thing is that the resistance remains unharmed. Thank God we have brilliant brains in the Strip," another activist said. Posted by: phil_b 2007-08-12 |
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