Recently, we blogged about a spate of good news stories coming from the West Bank. Here’s another from the Globe and Mail:
A city reborn:
Israel’s easing restrictions in the West Bank, and its largest city, Nablus, is thriving.
The Globe And Mail, Fri Jul 24 2009
by Patrick Martin
NABLUS, WEST BANK – The fun is back in Nablus.
Eight-and-a-half years after they were set up, Israeli military checkpoints that severely restricted residents’ movement and the city’s trade with the rest of the West Bank have been eased.
As of two weeks ago, Palestinians are no longer forced to show their identity papers as they leave or enter the city. Whereas, for the past few years, only about 3 per cent of Nablus residents had papers permitting them to exit the city, now everyone is free to come and go.
“It’s like being let out of jail,” said Adly Yaish, Mayor of Nablus. “You can’t imagine how good it feels.”
He should know. Mr. Yaish was arrested in May of 2007, just 18 months after being elected, and, though not charged, he spent the next 15 months in prison. (The reason given for his detention, he said, was his membership in an Islamic charity.)
With the enhanced freedom of movement in Nablus, and throughout the West Bank, has come a boost in commerce and in business in general.
While Palestinians are enjoying their new freedom and a revitalized economic life, some worry about the strategy behind the Israeli decision to lighten its control over the West Bank – softening up the Palestinians for negotiations.
“Life’s a lot easier now,” said Raja al-Taher as she walked through the charming maze of ancient streets, greeting many of the vendors by name. “We are so busy celebrating the removal of the checkpoints that we forget all about the bigger conflict [with Israel].” Ms. al-Taher has lived most of her life in Nablus and now serves as the city’s international relations officer.
Forgetting about the political conflict is exactly what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes will happen. His proposed “economic peace” in advance of negotiations for any two-state solution is intended to improve Palestinian life through measures such as easing the checkpoints and freeing internal trade. As a result of that, he believes, the people will be easier to negotiate with.
“People are tired of the violence,” Ms. al-Taher acknowledged. “They’re sick of the arrests, the house demolitions, the fear.”
“We’re not sure where all this will lead – and we don’t trust the Israelis – but we’re happy to go along and see our lives improved,” she said.
Still, welcome signs of a growing economy are everywhere, in a region where a gradual opening has been anticipated.
In Ramallah, which sits between Jerusalem and Nablus, the city that is the seat of the Palestinian Authority is enjoying a construction boom. Its hottest new café, owned by the president of the Ramallah stock exchange, serves world- class salads, and a designer dress shop just opened around the corner.
In Jenin, the West Bank’s northernmost city and once considered the most violent of all Palestinian communities, people are flocking to a new five- storey department store and mall. Among the most frequent visitors are Arab Israelis who are permitted to cross through the security barrier between Israel and West Bank, and are bused to the commercial district.
But it is in Nablus, the West Bank’s largest city, that one can see the greatest transformation.
Many new stores, particularly women’s wear shops, have opened in the past few months, and the city now can boast of a modern cinema, its first movie theatre in 25 years.
To celebrate the new freedom, and to bring in customers from across the West Bank, Nablus last week kicked off a month-long shopping festival. On Saturday, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad cut the first slice of the world’s largest kanafe, a sweet pastry of hot cream cheese for which the city is famous.
Perhaps the biggest sign of the good times is the Hayat Family Club in West Nablus, also opened Saturday by Mr. Fayyad. This recreational facility of swimming pools, spas, playing fields and dining areas is the kind of thing popular in Middle East cities such as Cairo and Damascus, but unheard of here. In the past few days, 450 families have reportedly plunked down the $1,000 (U.S. ) annual fee to belong to the club.
On this particular weekday, the old souk in the centre of town is not exactly jammed with people, but several of the shopkeepers testify to a new feeling in the city. Where narrow, winding streets witnessed armed shootouts and shuttered shops not that long ago, the vendors now are loudly hawking their wares.
Besides the opening of the checkpoints, the success of what locals call “the security campaign” is the other big reason for the improvement in living conditions.
For several years, Nablus went through hell. No sooner had the city gotten over the 2000-05 intifada than it was racked by fierce fighting between military groups associated with Hamas and those of Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. In 2007, Israeli forces invaded the city in a highly destructive campaign to end the fighting.
Today, the Israel Defence Forces have allowed the Palestinian police to operate in Nablus. Well-trained, well-equipped officers are seen throughout the city and the rule of gangs has ended.
In those bad years, as civilians hid and criminal groups took advantage of the chaos, about 35 per cent of businesses closed up permanently, said Mr. Yaish, the mayor. As well, by 2007, the population of Nablus and surrounding villages had shrunk. It was 65,000 less than the 1997 official census had estimated it would be, about a 20-per-cent drop.
“It’s not just the number of people that left,” Mr. Yaish lamented. “It’s who left.”
Most of those who emigrated, he explained, were affluent, well-educated people, thus dealing the city a double blow because of the loss of money and skills that went with them.
Mr. Yaish believes that bleeding will now stop and may reverse.
In its first piece of good news for years in this region, the International Monetary Fund last week issued a statement applauding recent developments.
“Macroeconomic conditions in the West Bank have improved, reflecting a relaxation of Israeli restrictions on internal trade and improved security conditions,” the IMF said. If Israel continues to ease restrictions, real GDP growth could stand at 7 per cent in 2009, the IMF concluded.
“The economy depends on hope,” Mr. Yaish said. “For now, we have hope.”
“But investment requires security that economic conditions will remain stable,” he said. “The trouble is, the Israelis can put back the checkpoints any time they want.”
/cijainfo
@CIJAinfo