Rubble brings opportunity, and risk, in war-scarred Gaza

By FARES AKRAM
Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Strip has few jobs, little electricity and almost no natural resources. But after four bruising wars with Israel in just over a decade, it has lots of rubble. Local businesses are now finding ways to cash in on the chunks of smashed concrete, bricks and debris left behind by years of conflict. In a territory suffering from a chronic shortage of construction materials, a bustling recycling industry has sprouted up, providing a welcome income to a lucky few but raising concerns that the refurbished building materials are substandard and unsafe.