If you don’t have one PlayStation 5 and you want one, or you want to give the most coveted gift this Christmas, it seems you should stop searching in stores or accept the blackmail of the exorbitant prices that are being ordered online.
All you have to do is get you a plane ticket to Palestine and try in the shops of Gaza. It sounds very strange, but a recent report from the British newspaper The Guardian has revealed this curious event.
Why is there still PS5 in Gaza while the rest of the world does not have
Gaza is an area of ​​Palestine that usually has to cope with commodity shortages, like medicines. In addition to that, it is a common conflict zone, subjected to bombings, border closures, movement control, import prohibition, etc. However, apparently, in some window displays of a few shops in Gaza City you can see Playstations 5 new unopened, ready to be purchased at their retail price. The price is still well above the retail price, but at least you find a console.
How is this possible? Because unfortunately Gaza is a very poor area, so most people cannot afford to buy a PS5, or any other console. In this way, a few of the units that arrived in the area are still there, waiting for an owner. This situation is well recounted by Hassan al-Baik, owner of an electronics store in the center of Gaza City.
“There is not a great demand for these devices in Gaza because their prices are still high.” Baik clarifies that his few clients are, above all, Internet-cafes that offer game on-line, or rooms Arcadian improvised, entertaining Palestinians in the area.
How did the Playstation 5 get to Gaza?
Interestingly, the first PS5 to arrive in April 2021 was smuggled. The story is curious, he left Dubai, disassembled into pieces, he went through Egypt like this and reassembled in Gaza.
Over time, Israel, which tightly controls everything that goes in and out of the area, allowed the importation of consoles into Gaza bought from Israeli merchants.
The current price for which they are sold is between 900 and 1000 euros at the exchange rate, double what they are worth here in Spain, for example. That makes them prohibitive for the vast majority of the region’s inhabitants, so they remain there.
Adham Masri, a local vendor, claims that he sells between three and five Playstation 5 per month, but that the demand is very limited.
As you can see, if you really need to get a PS5, you can, although you will have to live a little odyssey.
