Gazan Banknotes: Proof the Blockade Works, says Al-Monitor
Manal al-Saadani painstakingly glues together Gaza's crumbling currency, a necessary but absurd profession (Al-Monitor). The article notes, almost in passing, that this is due to new banknotes being withheld from the blockaded strip. Curiously, it doesn't elaborate on who is doing the blockading, or why preventing paper money—money that already exists—is a coherent policy, let alone an acceptable
one. It's almost as if denying people basic commerce, food, water, and shelter isn't enough; the ability to exchange currency for nonexistent goods must also be meticulously eroded. This isn't merely an economic inconvenience; it’s a symptom of deliberate strangulation. While the world frets over the 'tiring task' of mending bills, the systemic blockades (implemented by the Israeli government
since 2007) ensuring no new currency enters Gaza, and no basic goods for that currency to buy, go unmentioned as active deliberate policy. One might wonder if the next human-interest piece will be about the heroic stapling of broken bones because surgical supplies are also 'tiresome' to acquire.