Gaza Pepsi Factory Shuts down, Owners Blame Israeli Restrictions

A Palestinian man walks past Gaza Pepsi factory for soft drinks in Gaza City June 21, 2021. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man walks past Gaza Pepsi factory for soft drinks in Gaza City June 21, 2021. (Reuters)
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Gaza Pepsi Factory Shuts down, Owners Blame Israeli Restrictions

A Palestinian man walks past Gaza Pepsi factory for soft drinks in Gaza City June 21, 2021. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man walks past Gaza Pepsi factory for soft drinks in Gaza City June 21, 2021. (Reuters)

Gaza's Pepsi bottling company was forced to halt operations this week due to Israeli import restrictions that were tightened during an 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants last month, the company's owners say.

With a truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas largely holding, Israel on Monday allowed a limited resumption of exports from the enclave.

But it has kept in place tightened measures on raw material imports, including carbon dioxide gas and syrup that the bottling company's factory needs to produce Pepsi, 7UP and Mirinda soda, said Pepsi Gaza's Hamam al-Yazeji.

"Yesterday, we completely ran out of raw materials, and unfortunately we had to shut down the factory, sending home 250 workers," Yazeji said. Before the May fighting, he said, Pepsi Gaza was generally allowed to import needed materials.

Israeli officials did not immediately provide comment on the tightened restrictions.

Israel and neighboring Egypt keep tight control over Gaza's borders, and say the restrictions are necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas and prevent them from being produced locally.

Egypt and the United Nations stepped up mediation last week after incendiary balloons launched from Gaza drew retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Hamas sites, challenging the fragile ceasefire.

Shutdowns could also occur in other Gaza factories if Israeli restrictions are kept up, analysts say. Manufacturing makes up around 10 percent of Gaza's service sector-dominated economy, according to UN data.

Pepsi Gaza's factory has operated continuously since 1961, when the Gaza-based Yazeji Soft Drinks Company acquired rights to produce 7UP and other types of soda in the enclave.

Worth about $15 million, the owners say, the factory's products are distributed locally. A separate branch operates in the occupied West Bank, worth about $30 million, which serves the territory as well as East Jerusalem.

Company officials had made plans to celebrate 60 years of operations 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 60 years since we began production.

"We are deprived of marking this anniversary."



Syrian Army Takes Control of Tishrin Dam from SDF

Syria's Tishrin Dam. (File photo)
Syria's Tishrin Dam. (File photo)
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Syrian Army Takes Control of Tishrin Dam from SDF

Syria's Tishrin Dam. (File photo)
Syria's Tishrin Dam. (File photo)

Syrian army troops have deployed near the Tishrin Dam in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province, setting up military positions in what appears to be a step toward assuming control of the facility from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Pro-government broadcaster Syria TV cited an official source on Monday as saying the military had entered the outskirts of the Tishrin Dam area and established military outposts in preparation for a handover of the strategic site.

The dam, located near the city of Manbij, has been under the control of the Kurdish-led SDF, which played a key role in the fight against ISIS in northern Syria with the backing of the US-led coalition.

Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi signed an agreement on March 10 aimed at integrating all civil and military institutions of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northern and northeastern Syria into the Syrian state.

Syrian authorities, the SDF, and Türkiye had reached an agreement, brokered by the United States, for the transfer of the Tishrin Dam to the Syrian government.

Under the deal, the military will deploy forces around the dam, while teams from Damascus have already begun maintenance and upgrading works on the facility.

The agreement aims to bring an end to the fighting that had erupted between Syrian factions loyal to Türkiye, which have integrated into the Syrian army, and the SDF. The clashes, which had persisted for over three months since December 12, have now subsided.

On Thursday, Türkiye’s Ministry of Defense announced that Ankara is closely monitoring the implementation of the agreement regarding the handover of the dam.

The deployment of Syrian forces around the dam comes amid reports of renewed tensions in the area, which had been relatively calm for nearly a month. Syria’s state-run Syria TV reported that the military had sent reinforcements to areas previously affected by clashes with the SDF.

Additionally, reports said the SDF and Syrian forces were on alert after Turkish drones launched an attack near the dam, following the death of a fighter from Türkiye-backed factions in the region. The situation continues to evolve as both sides remain on edge in the strategic area.