Learned Lesson From Gaza

Something good is happening in Nabulus. The PA, the local traders, the United Nations, and the IDF, are all aware that the city is returning to prosperity and reclaiming its place as a Palestinian economic and commercial center. After eight years of choking closure, checkpoints that induce despair, travel restrictions, and intensive military activity, the residents are beginning to conduct normal lives again. The economic improvement, explain the Palestinians, will not be able to compensate for the political aspirations, but at the moment, everyone is enjoying the new atmosphere.

The metamorphosis of Nabulus can be felt from the moment that you enter the city. At first sight, it seems that the Huwwarah checkpoint -- the main gateway into the city -- has been completely abandoned. It is a surrealistic picture. On the Israeli side of the checkpoint stands a huge parking lot that always used to be full of private cars and taxis, stalls, and pedestrians. Today it is silent, completely empty. The Huwwarah crossing point has undergone a change and now only vehicles are permitted to pass through it. The traffic in and out of Nabulus flows easily. The terrible lines have gone.

The easing up at checkpoints, which began two months ago, gave the first impetus to Nabulus. "As opposed to the past, Nabulus is not under siege today," says a senior military source. "The traffic in Nabulus has been adapted to the new procedures, as in the other cities in Judea and Samaria. First of all, there are far fewer checkpoints. The working method has also changed: the checkpoint remains, but today it functions as a passage. For example, there used to be a restriction on those going out according to their age, but today anyone can go out through it after a short check of their identity card. The city's residents do not need traffic permits, so the number of requests has dropped significantly. This makes things a great deal easier for them."

"One upon a time, people used to sit for two hours at Huwwarah. Today, it doesn't take more than five minutes," says Lu'ay Sa'adi, spokesman of the Palestinian Coordination and Liaison Office in Nabulus. "The feeling of tension and suffocation that there used to be in Nabulus for years has vanished. People are going out of the city in their cars, and they aren't alone on the roads. There are other Palestinian cars, too, in front and behind. That's important. It's a normal situation."

UN representatives who closely monitor traffic restrictions in the territories also admit that the situation in Nabulus has improved. "Since the beginning of 2009, there has been a slow but significant improvement in the economic and commercial situation in Nabulus," says a report by the United Nations, which is based on Palestinian data. "This growth is ascribed, to a large degree, to the steps taken by Israel in recent months, which have made passage in and out of Nabulus easier." Nevertheless, a UN source claims that other things still need to be done in order to make life even easier for the Palestinian population, such as opening the crossing points for longer periods.

A significant easing up has also been put into effect at the Awarta checkpoint, which is used for goods traffic. Since 2003, trucks leaving Nabulus via the Awarta checkpoint either had to have a special traffic license, or transfer the goods "back-to-back": A Palestinian truck would arrive at the checkpoint, unload its goods, and these would be loaded onto an Israeli truck. The unloading and loading increased the price of the business deals and hurt the competitiveness of the Palestinian goods. Now, in the wake of this, 700-750 trucks are passing through compared with 250 trucks until a few months ago. The average waiting time at the checkpoint has been reduced to only 20 minutes.

One of the reasons that have made the easing possible is the improvement in the security situation. "There has been a significant drop in the level of the threats," says a senior military source. "First, our forces' activities have been going on for a long time. This activity is now intelligence-focused. It is preventing the development of terrorist infrastructures. The pardon agreement for wanted men also removed many terrorist elements from the equation of violence. In addition to this, the Palestinian security apparatuses are working effectively."

"In the last two years, the security apparatuses have improved dramatically, both at the operational and capability levels," says Lu'ay Sa'adi. "It's not only the weapons that are better; even the uniforms are better. In this same period, the apparatuses have made tremendous efforts to reach the position we're in today."

"These apparatuses are acting against anyone who breaks the law, whether they are criminal elements or terrorist ones," says Lu'ay, clearly alluding to HAMAS. "The priority is action against terror cells, whether they are military infrastructures or whether they are elements involved in money transfers or financing," Sa'adi says. "We are well in control of the security situation. We are not going to repeat what happened in Gaza. No way. We've learned a lesson from what happened there. We won't be weak in the West Bank as well."

Nevertheless, he explains that the PA is expecting the IDF to bring its operations in Nabulus to a complete halt. "If there is Palestinian police and security, why are they entering Nabulus?" he asks. "Give the apparatuses full powers." At present, the Palestinian apparatuses stop operating at 0100. All Palestinian policemen have to remain in their command centers. During these hours, the IDF is likely to operate in the city, which is why the presence of armed Palestinian forces is strictly prohibited. [passage omitted]

"Nabulus has received a significant stimulus," says Omar Hashim, deputy chairman of Nabulus Chamber of Commerce. "Businessmen and commercial companies that left the city are now returning to Nabulus. Even so, many of them are still holding on to the businesses that they have set up outside the city of Nabulus because of a lack of confidence. They are afraid that Israel will cancel all the measures to ease things and that they'll be hurt. They need time to see that things here are stable. People don't want to lose all their property again. I personally expect there to be a further easing of the measures. I don't think that there'll be any going back."

Nabulus is regarded as the economic capital of the PA and serves as a junction for the whole of the northern part of the West Bank. You will find the highest concentration of businesses there. A third of the businesses in the West Bank are in Nabulus (out of 42,000 businesses). Hebron and Ramallah, for the sake of comparison, have 10% of the businesses. Some 23% of the Palestinian GNP is concentrated in Nabulus. At the height of the intifadah, unemployment in the city reached 28-32%. Data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, for the beginning of 2009, shows that unemployment has dropped to only 13-15%.

But according to Omar Hashim, the most significant element in the economic revival of Nabulus has been Israeli Arabs. Some two months ago, Israeli Arabs were given permission to enter the city on Saturdays in their private cars. According to Palestinian statistics, some 40-50 buses enter the city every Saturday, while 300-400 private cars do the same. In total, this amounts to some 4,000 Israeli Arabs who go to the city to shop, enjoy themselves, and buy goods worth 2 million shekels.

"The sales on Saturday were 150% compared to weekdays, but with the entry of the Israeli Arabs, sales on Saturday have rocketed to 400%," says Hashim. "On a normal day, restaurants are 50% full. On Saturdays, they are 100% full. The garages, for example, are working beyond their capacity even on normal days. But on Saturdays, the amount of work is even greater."

"Traders here are satisfied," says Hashim. "This is the kind of feedback that we are getting from them. Their sales are rising. They feel that life is returning to normal. There is a strong sense of optimism." The city's center is indeed bustling with life. People on the sidewalk are in no rush, but take their time to look in the windows and even go in to buy things.

"So long as there are no checkpoints, everything is fine," says Husam, who owns a shoe shop in the Nabulus market. "Since they removed them, everything has got better. I have had a 70% increase in sales. Nabulus is the economic capital of the West Bank. People are coming from the villages nearby, and from the other cities in the West Bank, and from Israel. There is an excellent movement of buyers, during the week and particularly on Saturday. I have locally produced shoes -- made in Nabulus and Hebron -- and shoes made in China. The local products are more expensive, but there is a greater demand for them because of the quality."

Yet even in the present situation not everyone is satisfied. Nabulus is loaded with shops, and some of the traders do not feel that they are not benefiting from the new situation. "They're liars," says Musbah, the owner of an underwear shop in Nabulus's main square, directing his remarks at the local chamber of commerce. "There is no improvement at all and the PA isn't doing anything to help us. The salaries here are very low. People buy things at the beginning of the month, but when they get to the 10th, everybody's money is finished and they stop buying." [passage omitted]

In order to encourage the city's shops, Nabulus has announced a "shopping festival": Dozens of shops all over the city are taking part in the festival and entertainment troupes are putting on street shows for city residents. The festival opened on 15 July and is due to continue for a month. The organizers had been expecting 250,000 visitors, but in less than two weeks, there had been 280,000. According to Palestinian assessments, some 80,000 of the visitors are Israeli Arabs. On Sunday, the main stage was burned down. No one knows who did it. One can only guess.