Gaza Economics

Sandmonkey sheds a little insight on something I've been wondering about since following the recent news coverage from Gaza. The Palestinians live in squalor there. And they're cut off from the jobs they used to have in Israel? So where are they getting the Benjamins to buy flashy motorcycles and all that other stuff they're pushing back home? And why are the local Egyptians in some cases going over the border the other way in search of food for their families? SM:

The poor penniless people of Gaza don't seem to be really that Penniless. Between buying basic survival necessities such as Cement, Motorcycles, and Dish receivers, they have spent almost half a billion dollars there in less than 2 weeks: 480 million dollars to be exact.

Now, them having that kind of money isn't a shock really. The people who can smuggle in weapons can also smuggle in cash and food, and everyone knows that Iran is picking up that tab, so the entire Gaza diet no money thing, well, was never really logical from the get go. But let's ignore that for a second, shall we? Let's take a closer look at what's happening economically in Al Areesh right now. In case you didn't know, the prices there have skyrocketed to ridiculous heights, with the majority of major goods scarce and economically out of reach for the average egyptian living in Sinai or out of stock.