Gaza (Palestinian Territories) (AFP)

The first rays of sun barely pierce when Mounir Abou Hassira already arrives at the fish market, in the heart of the Gaza port.

While traders snatch the kilos of sardines caught at night, Mounir stands back from the auction.

Fine mustache and lively eyes, the man instead relies on luxury catches such as grouper, sea bream and especially large prawns which leave that morning at around 70 shekels (around 19 euros) per kilo.

A small fortune for Gaza.

"These are expensive fish for the people of Gaza. So I buy some for my restaurant, and the rest is stored in the cold before leaving for the West Bank, via the Israeli passage of Kerem Shalom", launches Mounir, accompanied by helpers who put the hundreds of kilos of fish bought that morning in a van.

For decades, the great Abu Hassira family launched their hordes of fishermen in the Mediterranean from Gaza.

But, after launching a first restaurant in the 1970s, she ended up leaving the sea, where fishermen now claim to be in poverty.

Fish are cooked on a grill in the Roma restaurant, run by the Abou Hassira family, on October 23, 2021 in Gaza MOHAMMED ABED AFP

According to the Israeli authorities, which since 2007 have imposed a blockade on the enclave, 4,200 tons of fish and seafood were caught on the Gaza coast last year, of which 300 went for export.

Three times nothing for the elders who still dream of the "golden age" of Gaza fisheries.

The rabbi and the sea

"I am the last fisherman in the family. I sold everything in 2013. Today, we are in the fish trade, we have 13 Abou Hassira restaurants", says Eid Abou Hassira, almost silvery white hair, wooden cane and sanitary mask under the nose.

If Mounir is the great merchant, it is he, Eid, the 80-year-old mokhtar, who runs the family business from his "diwan", his court, and wants to be the guardian of the memory of the Abou Hassira. the Gazan branch is Muslim, but the Israeli branch Jewish.

Mustapha Abou Hassira in the kitchen of the Roma restaurant run by his family, October 23, 2021 in Gaza MOHAMMED ABED AFP

Abou Hassira is the name of a famous Moroccan rabbi who died during a trip to Egypt in the 19th century.

From Egypt, one of his descendants had the vision "that he had to go to Gaza," says Eid.

"So we came here, my grandfather chose to live from the sea," he adds, remaining evasive about the Jewishness of part of the large family.

The old man is more talkative when it comes to claiming the paternity of + zebdiyya +.

A dish of fish and seafood served at the Roma restaurant run by the Abou Hassira family, on October 23, 2021 in Gaza MOHAMMED ABED AFP

When he was a kid, his mother cooked this seafood tagine that has become the emblem of the Abou Hassira tables, a string of restaurants in the streets around the diwan.

- Without Michelin star -

Who is the best chef in Abou Hassira?

To ask the question to all, Moïn is acclaimed.

Trained in French cuisine at a restaurant in Jaffa, Israel, the 50-year-old opened a new Abou Hassira restaurant, the Roma, at the start of the year.

In a street where kids play football, he pays homage to the roots of the family with his "zebdiyya" of shrimp with tomato, his tajine of fish with tahini, herbs and pine nuts and his méchoui of grouper.

A fish dish served at the Roma restaurant run by the Abou Hassira family, on October 23, 2021 in Gaza MOHAMMED ABED AFP

"There are no cooking schools here. All we know, we have learned by exchanging things between us (...) The secret of cooking in Gaza is hot pepper, ”he says in the kitchen of his restaurant.

Over time, the clientele of Abou Hassira restaurants has changed.

"Until the start of the first Intifada (1987), our restaurants were crowded, Israelis came to eat here, like tourists," he explains, referring to a time when Gaza was accessible and visited.

And since the imposition in 2007 of the Israeli blockade on this tongue of land held by the Islamists of Hamas, tourists, foreign foodies and the sharp feathers of gastronomic guides no longer have access to the enclave.

Today, the family's restaurants welcome wealthy Palestinian customers, but times remain tough in this territory where the unemployment rate is around 50%, Moïn laments.

Further on, Abou Ali, another member of the family, offers a seafood soup magnified with crab claws and fish barbecue on charcoal.

Moin (d) and Mustapha Abou Hassira in the kitchen of the Roma restaurant run by their family, on October 23, 2021 in Gaza MOHAMMED ABED AFP

Unknown to the Michelin guide, Abu Ali was nevertheless awarded this year an award framed on the wall of his room: a starfish and a fish drawn by a young Palestinian woman who captioned: "best fish in town, best chef of Gaza ".

© 2021 AFP