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Paltel Group CEO Dr. Abdelmalik Jaber

As the humanitarian crisis in Palestine continues to escalate, one corporation is rolling up its sleeves and pitching in.

Since March, an estimated 165,000 employees of the Palestinian Authority have not received their salaries as a result of the international boycott on aid to the democratically elected Hamas-led government. This has quickly had devastating consequences: food consumption by Palestinian families has dropped, the Palestinian GDP, which had already witnessed an estimated 31 percent drop since 1999, continues to decline, and poverty, which rests at an astonishing 50 percent, is now increasing.

In the vacuum created by the lack of funds, Dr. Abdulmalik Jaber, the CEO of Paltel Group - Palestine's national telecommunications company - is stepping up to the plate to utilize his company's resources in order to ease the suffering and fend off starvation.

Recently, Paltel has embarked on several projects to help the less-fortunate in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. "Our goal is to ensure that in this time of economic hardship, that Palestinians will face a secure food supply, without fear of going hungry," says Jaber.

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To that end, Paltel has begun to distribute food packages to the 40,000 PA employees who typically would earn less than $350 a month. They have also initiated an effort to purchase wheat and olives from Palestinian farmers in order to sell and distribute milled flour and pressed olive oil both abroad and in the Occupied Territories.

"The wheat project will ensure a consistent and less expensive flour supply to Palestinians," Jaber explains, "while also ensuring that Palestinian farmers and laborers remain working. The olive oil project will allow Palestinians to continue traditional olive growing and pressing methods."

By both investing in Palestine's agricultural economy and providing direct aid to their fellow citizens, Jaber and Paltel hope to do their part to help sustain the Palestinians through this increasingly difficult period.

"We have come up with creative ways to ensure our community's survival and growth," Jaber says. "It is my hope that such creative projects will continue to flourish throughout Palestine with other corporations following our lead."