KUALA LUMPUR: About 80 per cent of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are unemployed and in dire need of assistance.
This was disclosed by The Islamic Society (TIS) chairman Abdalrahim M. Shehab, a non-governmental organisation based in Jaballa City in the Gaza Strip.
Abdalrahim has been here since Sunday on a seven-day mission to seek funds and other assistance from Malaysians and NGOs in Malaysia. He was in Indonesia last week.
"Eighty per cent of the people in the Gaza Strip are totally dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. There is no work because factories and farms were destroyed.
"University students are not able to find jobs, some cannot even pay for their tuition fees. Schoolchildren are in need of bags, stationery, uniforms and books," he said during a briefing at Balai Berita here yesterday.
His visit here was arranged by the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) which is a partner of TIS and the Global Peace Mission (GPM).
Abdalrahim later presented gifts to Berita Harian group editor Datuk Mior Kamarul Shahid at the briefing.
He is very thankful for the assistance given by Abim and GPM to TIS.
"GPM had helped us by providing funds to build a bakery that will be able to produce 1,500 bread daily.
"While Abim has recently launched a fund for Palestinians that will be channelled through us," he said.
Abdalrahim said among their current projects now is to set up dairy and poultry farms as well as plantations that were destroyed by the Israelis.
TIS has about 100 volunteers and is a member of the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World.
Abim secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim said the movement would donate RM17,000 which was collected for the Abim-Palestine Education and Humanitarian Fund.
The fund was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Aug 2.
He called for more Malaysians to donate to the fund which would be channelled to TIS.
GPM chief executive officer Mohd Asri Abdul said US$25,000 (RM80,000) had been donated for the setting up the bakery, which would cost US$70,000.
"Before Abdalrahim leave, we will hand over another US$20,000.
"The remaining amount will be handed over to TIS after Ramadan."