WEST BANK: A charity in Hebron feeds thousands of Palestinians for the daily evening "iftar" meal during the holy fasting month of Ramadan

Record ID: 561677

  • Title: WEST BANK: A charity in Hebron feeds thousands of Palestinians for the daily evening "iftar" meal during the holy fasting month of Ramadan
  • Date: 4th August 2011
  • Summary: YOUNG GIRL BEHIND METAL GATE VARIOUS OF YOUNG BOYS CARRYING CONTAINERS OF FOOD
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: International Relations,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA5S2XCY45GPBQOF0UQ9Q8EL89K
  • Story Text: Workers at a small soup kitchen in the West Bank city of Hebron have been overwhelmed with demand for their evening meals during the first few days of the Muslim fasting month.
    Ramadan started across the majority of the Middle East on Monday (August 1) amid political instability and an economic climate that has left many families struggling to makemeet, putting a grim start on the traditionally joyous month.
    Located alongside the Ibrahimi Mosque in one of the holiest sites in the city, the "Takeyat Ibrahim" soup kitchen has become a well known landmark for the city's residents.
    Workers in the kitchen said they have never seen so many people flock to receive their evening "iftar" meal with which they break their daily fast during the holy month. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and typically break their fast on lavish spreads of food, juices and special Ramadan deserts.
    But the soup kitchen has become an element of subsistence as thousands of locals line up each day -- men, women and young children -- pushing and nudging for their turn to get food.
    "We feed everyone that comes to the charity -- around 3,500 families. Today we cooked 500 kilos of meat and we have distributed about 200 kilos of rice, we also have around 1,000 bags of bread that we have distributed among the people. As you can see, there are large numbers of people here," said Loai Khatib, the general supervisor of the charity.
    As the economic situation in the Palestinian territories worsens, organisers said each year the number of people has increased, reaching its peak this year with 3,500 families.
    Salah Abu Turk is a local resident who gets food from the charity. He said the poor economic situation forced him and many other families to get help this way.
    "Like all the other people you see here, we have come to 'Takiyat Ibrahim' because the poor economic situation we are encountering has put everyone at the same level, so there is no shame or embarrassment in coming to receive food," Abu Turk said.
    Israeli restrictions on the movement of people have brought the Palestinian economy to its knees in the last couple of years with high unemployment levels.
    "Unfortunately, every year we find there has been an increase in the number of people we serve food to. Last year we noticed an increase, so as the year before and this year there is a noticeable increase, particularly from women and young girls. Hebron is a traditionally conservative city and it is not easy for a woman to ask for food and mix with men. This is proof of the poor economic state we have reached" said Ammar El-Khatib, a Supervisor from the Islamic Waqf (Religious Affairs Ministry).
    Political strife compounds difficulties for Hebron residents. Hebron's old city has been a flashpoint for violence between Palestinians and Jews. Some 250 settlers living inside the occupied old city as well as hundreds more living in settlements on the outskirts of Hebron, often clash with the some 250,000 Palestinians who live in Hebron.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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