Gaza money traders profit from dollar-shekel exchange rate manipulations
Gazans are calling for tighter monitoring by the authorities over money traders, who they believe are manipulating dollar-shekel exchange rates to their advantage.
The varying exchange rate of the dollar in the Gaza Strip from one trader to another may give way to a black market as the demand for dollars grows, especially on paydays, when there is a lack of liquidity. It seems that money traders are in control of the exchange rate and are unmonitored as they seek to increase their profits.
Ayman Moussa, who works for the Palestinian Ministry of Education, was visibly angry as he stood in front of the Palestinian Islamic Bank in Gaza and mumbled indignantly.
He told Al-Monitor, “The bank should exchange my salary of 3,200 Israeli shekels for their equivalent of $849. But under the pretext of a lack of liquidity, [I am now losing] 200 shekels from my salary because the exchange rate at the bank differs from the external market by about six shekels, or $1.50 or even higher, because the bank manipulates the dollar exchange process on its whim, and the value [at the bank] is different from the market value. There is no monitoring from the Ministry of Economy or the Palestinian Monetary Authority. [The bank] forces me to receive my salary in dollars under the pretext that shekels are not available. The bank should cash my check in shekels, as paid by the Palestinian Ministry of Finance.”
In the Palestinian territories, banks publish currency exchange rates every day according to the international market, but they do not necessarily adhere to the stated prices. These rates are not even displayed by independent currency traders, who also do not even follow them. There is a lack of legal and governmental monitoring of this trade and leaves Palestinian citizens vulnerable.
