You thought YOU were having a hard time getting you hands on the iPhone 5? You ain’t got nothin’ on Gaza. Despite people paying almost DOUBLE what the device costs in the United States, Apple’s newest cell phone is making its way to the area via smuggling tunnels and continues to be in high demand.
Get this, prices range from 4,500 Israeli shekels ($,1,170 USD) for the 16GB to 5,700 ($1,480 USD) for the 64GB. Compare that to the $650 and $850 we pay here. According to Reuters, its price is jacked up by middlemen on its journey from Dubai to the blockaded territory that runs between Gaza and Egypt.
For the 1.6 million Palestinians living in Gaza, transport and handling costs for all kinds of imports are inflated by bribes paid in Egypt to facilitate the smuggling, and Hamas adds sales tax at its end of the supply chain.
Israeli mobile operators aren’t selling the iPhone 5 until December. However, phones were on display today in three independent mobile stores in a one-block radius in downtown Gaza City. Apple has no store of official dealership in Gaza.
No matter where you are in the world, some people will pay whatever they must to get the newest technology.
Source: Reuters
