Khaberni - As the holy month of Ramadan approaches, day by day, serious scandals related to the hoarding of rotten and expired foods in some traders' storages are uncovered, in preparation for their introduction to the market and their sale to citizens without the slightest consideration for their health and safety.
This comes amidst a wave of price hikes affecting the markets, from poultry and meats to vegetables, coinciding with an acute salary crisis that employees have been living through for more than two years, where they only receive a part of their dues.
The picture is exacerbated by the tragedy of thousands of workers who have been unemployed since the outbreak of war, those who once formed the primary engine and backbone of the local economy.
About 180,000 workers have been forced to stay at home after Israel closed workforce doors in their faces, leaving their families without a livelihood, amid a conspicuous absence of any serious movement, even from the labor unions that are supposed to be their primary voice.
Besides this, the crisis of the scarcity of household gas is intensifying, as families in some provinces struggle to refill their cylinders, becoming hostages to the promises of distributors, some of whom prefer certain customers for regular distribution, while others are left waiting for weeks for a single cylinder, amidst official statements confirming that the gas quantities being supplied are sufficient for people’s needs.
In the midst of this, the exposure of hazardous goods and foods continues by the relevant authorities. On Wednesday, the police announced the seizure of large quantities of rotten and expired food items inside a warehouse in Hebron, including a variety of candies, juices, and other food products, which were later found to be expired, during the execution of a judicial warrant issued against a citizen.
And as is customary each year, the authorities, led by the Ministry of Economy, promise to intervene and regulate prices before the advent of the holy month, but the greed of the traders remains dominant in the markets.
