However, after the separation wall was built, their livelihoods were effectively blocked. Meanwhile, Majdi Joseph, from Handmade Palestine, an organisation supporting Palestinian local artisans, says there was a time when Palestinian women had access to the market in Jerusalem. Raz is working from the Czech Republic these days. I had to look outside and sell abroad,” Raz says, adding that most of the work he does now is catered to the international market, including taking orders from Palestinians abroad. “I could not work there anymore because I didn’t see any potential of tourists and other people buying my products. It was particularly upsetting because Jerusalem was once a major market for the items he sold. Raz, who earns a living making products from olivewood, says he even had to relocate to Europe to sell his products. Nabil Raz, a Palestinian entrepreneur, describes the business environment in Jerusalem as “a total collapse” over the past two years, exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. Palestinian businesses often suffer losses as Israel discourages tourists from visiting certain parts of Jerusalem, saying it's unsafe for them. It noted that East Jerusalem has been “gradually detached from the rest of the Palestinian economy despite the city’s historic position as the commercial, transport, tourism, cultural and spiritual centre for Palestinians throughout the occupied territory.”
In 2019, it was reported that Israeli authorities closed 430 Palestinian commercial shops over a period of two decades.Ī UNCTAD report further said that segregation gained momentum during the last decade through measures that altered the physical and demographic realities of the city and its mostly Palestinian and Arab populations. Well, around Jerusalem all the Israeli shops are open,” Akel says in astonishment, stating that Covid-19 does not seem to impact Israeli shops the same way. “Why is it closed? (they say) Because of Covid. He recalls another recent instance in which he visited the city and saw many of the Palestinian stores in the old town, many of which he regularly frequented, shut down. “I remember him complaining to me about how there are no more customers, no more tourists, no business and that he was wasting his time in the shop open 12 hours a day with, maybe, ten customers,” Akel continues, specifying how expensive it already is to have a shop in the Old City. He adds that one day last July he went to this old part of Jerusalem looking for the restaurant only to find out it was closed.
I would sit there, eat some pizza and drink some coffee,” says Akel, who feels he is treated like a “tourist and a criminal” in his homeland. The business was run by a fellow Palestinian near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a major site of Christian significance. Akel’s last visit to Jerusalem meant finding out his favourite pizza place no longer exists. Jalal Akel, a Palestinian Jerusalemite who had recently been studying in the United States, tells a smiliar story.
We organised musical evenings and quiz nights at his restaurant and invited the youth community from Jerusalem to visit the Old City more,” shares Idkaidek, adding that she and her friends are trying to support small businesses in the city who are also facing threats and harassment from Israeli authorities. “When my friend and I visited Abu Khadija’s restaurant and heard about his struggles, we decided to organise small events there to raise awareness. Lana Idkaidek, a Palestinian activist, is trying to create awareness about Abu Khadija’s story in order to raise financial and moral support for him. This is due mainly to the area’s historical and geographical importance. Owing to high taxes and constant harassment from Israeli authorities, he now faces the risk of having his business confiscated. The Zionist state disenfranchises Palestinian communities by choking the flow of tourists and destroying existing infrastructure.Įmad Abu Khadija, a Palestinian businessman in Jerusalem, owns a quaint, beautiful restaurant in the city’s old part.
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