SHOTLIST Gaza City, Gaza Strip 1. Various of currency exchange bureau 2. Sign reading (Arabic): "Mecca exchange;" another one (English): "Western Union" 3. Exterior of Bank of Palestine 4. Man and woman at cash point 5. Close up of man at cash point 6. Exteriors of currency exchange bureau 7. Sign reading (arabic) "Al -Aqsa organisation money exchange" 8. Various of employee counting banknotes 9. Employee and customers 10. Employee counting banknotes 11. Exteriors of currency exchange bureau 12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Usama Marzuq, Gaza resident: "The situation will be very bad and life will be halted because our economy is dependent mainly on the Israeli economy. We buy and sell mainly with Israeli shekels, so the cash shortage will very much affect our economy." 13. Various of goods at grocery shop 14. Street scene Karni crossing, Israel/Gaza Strip border 15. Wide of crossing 16. Stop sign on gate 17. Wide of fence Nahal Oz crossing, Israel/Gaza Strip border 18. Medium of gas containers at crossing 19. Medium of gas pipes 20. Close up on gas pipes 21. Wide of gas containers STORYLINE There's a global meltdown beyond the Gaza Strip's tiny borders, but within the crowded territory, there's a more unique problem at hand: local banks are running out of cash. The UN has stopped distributing cash to Gaza's poorest residents, most banks will not allow withdrawals of more than 700 Israeli shekels (175 US dollars). There's a higher limit on withdrawing US dollars, but many money changers, worried about their own supplies, will not cash more than 200 US dollars at a time. Bank officials warn they might have to shut down their Gaza branches. Israel's refusal to send cash into Gaza appears to strengthen militant group Hamas, which rules the territory, by weakening their Fatah rivals who rely on the money infusions to pay their loyalists. Israel's Defense Ministry halted an expected 200 (m) million shekel transfer (50 (m) million US dollars) to the Gaza Strip in early November, meant to infuse the territory with fresh money supplies. Israel last approved a cash infusion of some 50 (m) million shekels (13 (m) million US dollars) for the Gaza Strip in September. The Israeli shekel is a widely used currency in the Gaza Strip, and the territory needs at least 100 (m) million shekels, or about 28 million US dollars each month in new currency, economists say. The cash crunch is the latest shortage spreading through Gaza. Israel and Egypt's tightened blockade of the territory have caused widespread power blackouts, severe shortages of cooking gas and flour stocks are diminishing. Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade following Hamas' Gaza takover. That blockade intensified early November after Israeli forces and Palestinian militants renewed border skirmishes. Israel has completely sealed its trade crossings with Gaza for most of November. The cash crunch has made life a misery for the territory's public servants, whose salaries are deposited into bank accounts. Some residents head to the banks almost daily to withdraw their salaries in drips, keeping lines long and frustrations high. But cash transfers have to be first approved by Israel's Defence Ministry. Hamas scrapes together the money it needs by smuggling cash, laundering money and stepping up tax collection. The militant group then distributes cash to its own loyalists and the thousands of people it employs to run the territory. It is Fatah loyalists supported by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who will not be able to withdraw their salaries if the shortages continue. Abbas continues to pay the salaries of some 70-thousand civil servants in Gaza, in exchange for staying loyal and refusing to work for the Hamas government. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/40854be293bd1c92686cb6058a775bfe Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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