Hamas militia largest employer in Gaza

The report, based on data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, reinforces anecdotal evidence given by such people as one prominent Gaza construction employer who recently estimated that of more than 100 workers he was obliged to lay off because of a lack of materials, a majority had joined the Hamas police force or its military wing. Some diplomats have privately questioned the wisdom of a blockade which makes it easier for Hamas to recruit force members. The UN says that the burgeoning youth segment of the Palestinian labour force (15- to 24-year-olds) was “the … most prone to increased unemployment”.

Chris Gunness, a spokes-man for UNRWA, said: “If you deprive young people of an economic future, you deprive them of hope and when hope vanishes, what is left? How better to prevent despair and economic misery taking hold of a whole generation than to re-open Gaza’s borders?”