Arab Bank branches in Gaza have fired 70 workers. The stated reason for the layoffs is that money is being withdrawn from the bank and is not coming in, leaving the bank with limited resources and making a large staff unnecessarily costly.
Dozens of workers have been fired from both of the bank's Gaza branches. The international bank also has eight branches in Judea and Samaria.
The bank's statement regarding the layoffs led to questions. Money withdrawn from the bank would normally return to the bank at some point after circulating in the Gaza economy, making the one-way cash flow suspicious.
No Faith, Smuggling
Analysts who spoke to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service suggested that the cash flow problem may indicate that Gaza Arabs lack faith in the banking system. Once they withdraw their salaries deposited for them by their employers, they prefer to keep the money in their own secure place instead of in a bank account.
Another possibility is that the money is being used to buy weapons, cars, and other non-essential goods smuggled into Gaza from Egypt by way of tunnels under the border town of Rafiah. If that is true, much of Gaza's money is flowing into Egypt, making the banks' cash shortage inevitable, the analysts explained.
Hamas Blames Israel
Hamas officials in Gaza preferred to blame the layoffs on a shortage of shekels. Israel has made several cash transfers to Gaza as a gesture to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, but Hamas leaders say the bills sent so far have not been sufficient to meet Gaza's needs.