Al-Bustan resort
Encyclopedia
Al-Bustan is a beach resort in Gaza
with restaurants, cafes and swimming pools. It is located on the beach north of Gaza City.
About 800 people come on a typical day. The atmosphere is very Islamic, women wear veils and only Islamic music is played. One visitor, "wearing head-to-toe black garb and a veil" told a Reuters correspondent that "The atmosphere is Islamic. It's a place where you feel relaxed."
According to the Reuters
, the resort was built by a "Hamas-linked charity," The ceremonies were attended by Fathi Hamad
, the Interior Minister of the Hamas-led government and other "prominent" Hamas elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council
. According to The Independent
, "There is a widespread assumption in Gaza that Hamas
... or at least businessmen close to the Islamic faction, are behind the venture."
According to Egyptian journalist Ashraf Abu Al-Houl writing in Al-Ahram
, Al-Bustan is one of a rapidly growing group of Gaza pleasure parks, including Zahrat Al-Madain and the Crazy Water Park
, so many of which were completed between his visit to Gaza in February and his return in July of 2010 as to make Gaza "almost unrecognizable." He continues, "A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza's coast. Further, the sight of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me. Merchandise is sold more cheaply than in Egypt, although most of it is from the Egyptian market, and there are added shipping costs and costs for smuggling it via the tunnels – so that it could be expected to be more expensive... the siege was broken even before Israel's crime against the ships of the Freedom Flotilla in late May; everything already was coming into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. If this weren't the case, businessmen would not have been able to build so many resorts in under four months."
According to Reuters, the resort is part of a "construction boom" in "recreational facilities" that has prompted some to criticize Hamas for putting money into entertainment venues like El-Bustan and the Crazy Water Park
rather than into housing and infrastructure.
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
with restaurants, cafes and swimming pools. It is located on the beach north of Gaza City.
About 800 people come on a typical day. The atmosphere is very Islamic, women wear veils and only Islamic music is played. One visitor, "wearing head-to-toe black garb and a veil" told a Reuters correspondent that "The atmosphere is Islamic. It's a place where you feel relaxed."
According to the Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, the resort was built by a "Hamas-linked charity," The ceremonies were attended by Fathi Hamad
Fathi Hamad
Fathi Hamad is a political leader of Hamas. In April 2009, he was appointed the new Interior Minister in replacement of Said Seyam who was assassinated by Israel in the 2009 Gaza War. Hamad became a Hamas affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006, representing his home town...
, the Interior Minister of the Hamas-led government and other "prominent" Hamas elected members of the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
. According to The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, "There is a widespread assumption in Gaza that Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
... or at least businessmen close to the Islamic faction, are behind the venture."
According to Egyptian journalist Ashraf Abu Al-Houl writing in Al-Ahram
Al-Ahram
Al-Ahram , founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya . It is majority owned by the Egyptian government....
, Al-Bustan is one of a rapidly growing group of Gaza pleasure parks, including Zahrat Al-Madain and the Crazy Water Park
Crazy Water Park
The Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park was a water park in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, that served the territory's small wealthy class. The park opened in May 2010 and was burned down by masked men in September 2010, after being closed by the Palestinian Hamas de facto government for allowing...
, so many of which were completed between his visit to Gaza in February and his return in July of 2010 as to make Gaza "almost unrecognizable." He continues, "A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza's coast. Further, the sight of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me. Merchandise is sold more cheaply than in Egypt, although most of it is from the Egyptian market, and there are added shipping costs and costs for smuggling it via the tunnels – so that it could be expected to be more expensive... the siege was broken even before Israel's crime against the ships of the Freedom Flotilla in late May; everything already was coming into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. If this weren't the case, businessmen would not have been able to build so many resorts in under four months."
According to Reuters, the resort is part of a "construction boom" in "recreational facilities" that has prompted some to criticize Hamas for putting money into entertainment venues like El-Bustan and the Crazy Water Park
Crazy Water Park
The Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park was a water park in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, that served the territory's small wealthy class. The park opened in May 2010 and was burned down by masked men in September 2010, after being closed by the Palestinian Hamas de facto government for allowing...
rather than into housing and infrastructure.