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Gaza bottling company Pepsi was forced to shut down operations this week due to Israeli import restrictions that were tightened during an 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants last month, according to the reports. owners of the company.
But he has kept in place stricter measures on imports of raw materials, including carbon dioxide and syrup that the bottling plant needs to produce Pepsi, 7UP and Mirinda soda, Hamam said. al-Yazeji from Pepsi Gaza.
“Yesterday we ran out of raw materials completely and unfortunately had to shut down the factory, sending 250 workers home,” Yazeji said. Before the fighting in May, he said, Pepsi Gaza was generally allowed to import the necessary materials.
Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the tightened restrictions.
Israel and neighboring Egypt maintain tight control over Gaza’s borders, and say the restrictions are necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas and preventing them from being produced locally.
Egypt and the United Nations stepped up their mediation last week after incendiary balloons launched from Gaza sparked Israeli retaliation against Hamas sites, calling into question the fragile ceasefire.
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Closures could also occur at other factories in Gaza if Israeli restrictions are maintained, analysts said. The manufacturing industry accounts for around 10 percent of Gaza’s service-dominated economy, according to UN data.
The Pepsi Gaza factory has been in continuous operation since 1961, when the Gaza-based Yazeji Soft Drinks Company acquired the rights to produce 7UP and other types of soda in the enclave.
Worth around $ 15 million, the owners say, the plant’s products are distributed locally. A separate branch operates in the occupied West Bank, worth around $ 30 million, which serves the territory as well as East Jerusalem.
Company officials had planned to celebrate 60 years of operation before the shutdown on Sunday.
Yazeji had tears in his eyes as he walked through his empty factory on Monday. The shutdown was “catastrophic,” he said.
“This year should have been exceptional, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the start of production.
“We are deprived of marking this anniversary.”
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