- Title: Too poor to buy, too scared to meet: Palestinians face joyless Ramadan
- Date: 23rd April 2020
- Summary: JERUSALEM (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS) DOME OF THE ROCK AT AL-AQSA COMPOUND EMPTY YARD AROUND MOSQUE DIRECTOR OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE, SHEIKH OMAR AL-KISWANI, WALKING AT JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY SIGN READING IN ARABIC 'GOD' AT ONE OF THE DOORS OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE VARIOUS OF EMPTY COMPOUND OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE AS SEEN FROM MOUNT OF OLIVES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE, SHEIKH OMAR AL-KISWANI, SAYING: "There is a decision from the Islamic Waqf to continue the suspension of worshippers' access to Al Aqsa during the Holy Month of Ramadan to protect their health." SING READING IN ARABIC, HEBREW AND ENGLISH: 'BAB HUTTA' CLOSED GATE LEADING TO AL-AQSA LANTERN HUNG AT GATE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF AL-AQSA MOSQUE, SHEIKH OMAR AL-KISWANI, SAYING: "As we are holding the regular prayers we will hold the Tarawih (evening) prayers with whoever is allowed to access to the mosque, the guards and the Imams, and it will be streamed from the Waqf website to the entire world." EMPTY YARD AT DAMASCUS GATE PEOPLE AT EMPTY MARKET IN JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY FOOD ON DISPLAY PEOPLE WALKING AT JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY MAN HANGING LANTERN FOR RAMADAN SING READING IN ARABIC: 'RAMADAN KAREEM' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF EAST JERUSALEM, AMMAR BAKIR, SAYING: "We have been closing the shop for around a month, after the government announced the easing of the restrictions for electricity shops and shops for home tools we opened. It has been an hour now unfortunately the city atmosphere is very sad there are no people, no worshippers, Al-Aqsa mosque is closed and that is affecting the residents of Jerusalem in particular." HEBRON, WEST BANK (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE AT SUPERMARKET MAN ARRANGING PRODUCTS VARIOUS OF CASHIER WORKING PEOPLE AT SUPERMARKET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF HEBRON, FOUAD AL HALAWANI, SAYING: "Ramadan's atmosphere is sad we are used to welcoming Ramadan, as you can see the market is not busy, people used to get ready for Ramadan in big numbers. And on the other side for the religious rituals the mosques will be closed and that will spoil the flavour of Ramadan." GAZA CITY, GAZA (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GAZANS AT CROWDED MARKET (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) GAZAN OWNS A STORE SELLING DATES AND SWEETS, SAMEH ABU SHABAN, 57, SAYING: "People are in the market to spend time and to have fun. The cafes are closed in the Gaza Strip, they used to go to the cafe to have fun but now they are going to the market. They don't buy and don't spend money, they are only having fun." VEHICLES AT BUSY STREET VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT MARKET
- Embargoed: 7th May 2020 11:15
- Keywords: Al-Aqsa Gaza Health Jerusalem Palestinians Ramadan West Bank coronavirus markets
- Location: JERUSALEM / HEBRON, WEST BANK / GAZA CITY, GAZA
- City: JERUSALEM / HEBRON, WEST BANK / GAZA CITY, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001CAPQXC7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The electric lanterns and ornate decorations of Ramadan would normally be hanging in the streets of Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem by now, but not this year amid coronavirus restrictions and growing economic woes.
The holy fasting month is expected to start on Friday but, as elsewhere, Palestinians this year are facing the prospect of celebrations without the usual large gatherings for family meals or evening prayers, known as Tarawih.
And the same closures that are set to dampen the mood are also suppressing the economy - Palestinian officials have ordered the closure of schools, wedding halls, restaurants and mosques, sending tens of thousands into unemployment.
With two deaths and 335 infected cases reported, different coronavirus regulations have been imposed by Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and by Israel in East Jerusalem, where Muslim religious authorities have stopped worship at the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest place in Islam.
Tens of thousands of people would usually pray inside Al-Aqsa in Ramadan, the numbers growing to hundreds of thousands in the final days.
In Gaza customers are still flocking into markets and store owners are displaying the dates, cheese, pickles, nuts and other snacks favoured during Ramadan meals
But with families saving money in case of an outbreak, many people are just window shopping, say storekeepers.
In the West Bank the Palestinian Authority has declared a state of emergency, but a full lockdown has been eased in recent days to allow some businesses resume partial operations, amid predictions of a 50% fall in revenue.
(Production: Sinan Abu Mayzer, Yosri Al Jamal, Fadi Shana, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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