GAZA CITY // Newcomers could be forgiven for being confused by the half dozen or more seafood restaurants on Abu Hassira street, all bearing a variation of the same name: Abu Hassira.
But only this one venerable seafaring family has managed has a loyal clientele spanning all political stripes and most income brackets, as well the handful of foreigners working in this Palestinian enclave.
This is Moneer Abu Hassira's restaurant, which, deliberately, the 47-year-old fisherman and restaurateur named the Moneer Abu Hassira restaurant.
The menu-less eatery - where fish is ordered by the gram, and which serves a popular yet mysterious fish soup that is anything but fishy - has become an institution here since its founding in 2000.
And yet, the two-level restaurant is far from fancy. Patrons must first enter through the in-house fish market, where the sights and smells of the day's catch, displayed in front and packed on ice, resemble a gritty seaside dock.
The dining facility also is a no-frills experience. Massive tortoise shells and shark jawbones adorn the walls, alongside shucked lobster tails and fading posters of killer whales and other aquatic species.
Adel Taweel, 40, says he dines at Moneer Abu Hassira for reasons other than ambience. "We're here to focus on the dishes served, not the surroundings," he said as he and three friends crowded around one of the restaurant's nondescript tables that seem fit for a military canteen.
Yet, for Mr Abu Hassira, that is the point: a solid reputation for delicious entres and fresh fish, rather than the facade, is what matters most.
"If you were to go all the way to Malta and mention Abu Hassira, believe me, they would think of Gaza and my family," he boasted.
His customers have remained loyal through wars, political upheaval and an economy limping along as a result of Israel's crushing blockade on Gaza.
The restaurant served up customers on both sides of the Palestinian political divide, which was bridged this week after officials from Hamas and Fatah signed a unity agreement in Cairo. Officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA) government, which was driven out by Hamas in 2007, were regular customers, Mr Abu Hassira says.
Even the late Fatah founder and PA president, Yasser Arafat, would regularly frequent his in-house fish market, choosing from his daily selection of more than 20 different fish and crustaceans.
If they tend to spend far less than officials from the PA, Mr Abu Hassira says, Hamas officials have still become dependable. Hamas's prime minister, Ismael Haniyeh, consistently calls in for deliveries.
"He loves sardines," Mr Hassira says of the Hamas leader, who also is a childhood friend and fellow fisherman.
In some respects, his restaurant seems like an abode of civility. Hamas personnel can be seen slurping down his soups and devouring succulent mackerel next to more secular Palestinians.
Yet like many in the politically charged Gaza Strip, he avoids talking politics. His love is the sea and its fruits. He discusses little else.
"I was seriously considering opening a restaurant in Ramallah," he said. "I stayed there for about one week but I couldn't stand it; it was too far from the sea."
He said he decided to abandon the restaurant as a result. "I can't even go to northern Gaza because I miss the water!"
His zest for fish and fishing began with his grandfather, Hajj Mohammed Abu Hassira. He headed a fisherman's union during the British-mandate era that scoured in small wooden boats the waters spanning Egypt's Port Said to Haifa, in what is now Israel.
Mr Abu Hasssira has kept up the family seafaring tradition and owns a fleet of three large fishing vessels and six smaller ones.
But the days of fishing the vast expanses of his grandfather's Mediterranean are long gone; Israel allows Gaza fisherman only three miles beyond the shoreline. Friends and colleagues now describe his role as important for negotiating with Israel the release of Gaza fishing vessels impounded by the country's military.
The restrictions, he laments, have devastated Gaza's fishing industry.
"You can't find anything three miles out," Mr Abu Hassira said ruefully. "We're missing the sardine season, and more than 70 per cent of the industry depends on sardines."
He decided to start a restaurant as a result of the difficulties of fishing Gaza's waters.
Ironically, though, much of his catch is really not his catch at all: if not imported from Israel, most of the rest of his fish are smuggled in from Egypt through Gaza's bountiful smuggling tunnels. "Only about 10 per cent of it is caught locally," he said.
But patrons do not seem to care, or know of, the difference. They keep on coming, like 37-year-old Rafah Chamiyeh.
"There are plenty of fish restaurants in Gaza," he said as he sat down with his friends to eat. He ordered the barbecue Dorado.
"But Moneer's fish are the best."
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
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Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.