Because of the harassment of the occupation and settlers, Hebron markets suffer from stagnation

Dozens of Palestinian merchants cling to their presence in the Old City of Hebron despite the harassment and pursuit of the occupation army and settlers, and the efforts to dominate more shops, stressing that their survival is a bond for the sake of God.

Hebron -

The store of the elderly Palestinian Fathi Al-Jabrini (87 years old), who has been working in commerce since he was 17 years old, is a prominent landmark on the street leading to the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, as he maintains his presence in it daily from morning until evening, wearing the traditional Palestinian dress.

The son of the old town sits at the end of his shop surrounded by merchandise, and while many tourists ask him for permission to take a picture of him, his merchandise does not find customers like dozens of other merchants.

Fathi Al-Jabrini is one of the oldest merchants and residents of the Old City of Hebron (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Jabrini tells Al-Jazeera Net that his business is losing and that he barely saves the costs of the shop in terms of fees and electricity, as he sells only 20 shekels per day (about 6 dollars), in addition to that he must pay accumulated sums to the municipality and the government.

He points out that the market opposite his store is completely closed by the occupation army, as he owns two shops and cannot open them.

closure and stagnation

Al-Jabrini is one of the dozens of Palestinian merchants who clung to their presence in the Old City of Hebron despite the harassment and pursuit of the occupation army and settlers, and the efforts to dominate more shops, and confirms that he sticks to his shop even if the day passes without selling anything.

A wanderer in the old city markets during peak hours, especially in the afternoon, senses a stagnation in sales and a scarcity of shoppers.

Muhammad Awawda, owner of a sand painting shop (Al-Jazeera)

A rare craft and a simple income

Not far from Al-Jabrini's store, Muhammad Awadeh tries to attract foreign tourists with English words to show them his skills, and sells them bottles of colored sand in the form of different drawings.

Awawdeh, who is from the countryside of Hebron, says that his craft is rare and is called "painting with colored sand", and through it he tries to provide for his family and his children to study at the university.

He confirms that he has been in his place for 12 years, and will remain there as long as he can reach it.

He added, "We are here to prevent the settlement advance. If we leave, we will not be able to return again."

For his part, Mazen Sayaj displays different colors and shapes of Turkish delight, adding that he was born in the same neighborhood in 1957 and opens his shop from sunrise until sunset.

He says, "The town has a distinctive smell, the fragrant scent of history emanates from it, and our presence here is a bond in the way of God and prevents the advance and advance of these people (referring to soldiers passing by in front of his shop) and protects our property. As for economically, it is useless."

A fence points to iron sheets that close one of the town's alleys, and says, "This is a point of contact, and behind this barrier are hundreds of closed shops and abandoned properties."

Rabih Zahda, owner of a grocery store in Hebron (Al-Jazeera)

Emaar despite the recession

The poor economic situation does not preclude the attempt and endeavor to create projects within the Old City with the help of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, a governmental committee that has reconstructed hundreds of homes and shops.

Rabih Zahda (grocery store owner) says that the division of Hebron contributed to the movement of merchants outside the boundaries of the Old City, adding, "We will live here until we die, but whoever dies among the merchants, no one will come in his place."

He refers to previous promises from the government to support stationed merchants, but it did not abide by that.

"They gave us $200 once, $143 at other times, but for 5 years we haven't received any support."

Judaization plans

In the Old City, the occupation closes Al-Shuhada Street and Al-Sahla Street completely to Palestinians, preventing them from opening hundreds of shops.

Either by de facto procedures or by military decisions.

In addition to the factors related to the occupation procedures, merchants agree that the modern markets and "malls" outside the old town have captured shoppers, and this has negatively affected the old town.

The closure of the Old City went through two stages: after the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994, and after the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, which prompted merchants better off in terms of financial capabilities to open new shops in the Palestinian-controlled areas of Hebron.

According to the agreement signed in 1997, the occupation forces control about 20% of the city, including the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Despite the establishment of branches and offices of a number of ministries and government departments in the Old City to stimulate the movement, merchants are calling for more programs and plans to bring in shoppers and revive the Old City, and settlement continues to threaten more neighborhoods.

A settlement outpost behind the old building in the center of Hebron (Al-Jazeera)

Judaization of real estate

The Israeli restrictions in the Old City of Hebron cannot be viewed in isolation from what was reported by "Haaretz" newspaper on January 11.

The newspaper stated that, based on the coalition agreement between the Likud and religious Zionist parties, the Israeli government is seeking to transfer ownership of some properties in the West Bank to Jewish heirs who owned them before the Nakba in 1948, including dozens of buildings in the city of Hebron.

The Hebron municipality says that the talk is about 70 houses or real estate, but it is not clear to the municipality, because the occupation closes dozens of shops and hundreds of stores and prevents access to them.

And a member of the Hebron Municipal Council, Abdul Karim Farah, added, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that the municipality, in cooperation with the Hebron Reconstruction Committee, takes over the legal side to confront the Israeli decision, in addition to pressure at the political level.

He pointed to the formation of a committee from the municipality to discuss how to strengthen the steadfastness of the residents of the Old City, including providing exemptions from fees and taxes of up to 100% for the most affected groups.

He said that the responsibility is shared with the government regarding that region, adding that reducing prices for the consumer may contribute to attracting shoppers, provided that the government bears the difference from the market.

Haaretz newspaper: The government of Benjamin #Netanyahu pledged to give settlers ownership of thousands of dunams in the West Bank and dozens of buildings in the Old City of Hebron, under the pretext that they were owned by Jews before 1948, contrary to the policies of previous governments that preferred to postpone these properties for the final #peace arrangements.

- Fehmi Shtewe (@FehmiShtewe) January 11, 2023

Apartheid

According to the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, there are about 700 settlers in the Old City, while there are about 7,000 Palestinians in places adjacent to the settlers' homes and the streets they use.

The organization says, in a special file for Hebron on its website, that the Israeli authorities follow in this area "a system that is openly and explicitly based on the principle of separation," noting 21 checkpoints staffed with soldiers, 65 physical obstacles, in addition to dozens of observation points and hundreds of cameras targeting Palestinians.

Very slowly and silently, the Old City of Hebron was cut off from other parts of the city.

Neighborhoods and streets have been closed down, houses have been abandoned, their owners have been cut off from shops, more than half of the campus has been stolen, and Judaization policies are continuing.

pic.twitter.com/nRQiS7jVfl

Metras (@MetrasWebsite) June 24, 2022

The town's markets were built in Hebron with an Islamic architecture dating back to the Mamluk and Ottoman eras. At the end of it is the Ibrahimi Mosque and the tomb of the Prophet of God, Ibrahim al-Khalil, peace be upon him.

A tour of the old city lanes in the city of #Hebron 🇵🇸

📸 |

Filming and editing by hidaya mohtaseb # Palestine_Culture House pic.twitter.com/NSoGl3RFUv

- Palestine House of Culture (@palfcul) January 4, 2023