Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 9)
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- Democratic Palestine : 29 (ص 9)
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of the occupation would spell its economic doom. The small
shopkeepers, on the other hand, market mainly local products,
and profit much less than the agents of Israeli goods.
In view of the Israeli policy of economic subordination of
the 1967 occupied territories, some merchant strata have suf-
fered under the occupation which has restricted local industry
and trade. Particularly onerous are high, arbitrary taxes on the
merchants’ sales. In the early eighties, with the Israeli
economic crisis, this became more obvious. Taxes were col-
lected from West Bank merchants in stable Jordanian dinars,
to the advantage of the Israeli treasury at a time when the
shekel was suffering heavy devaluation. The 1984 report of the
‘civil? administration said that the occupied territories were
paying for themselves with taxes collected from the local
population. The report added that taxes increased by 39% in
real terms in 1984. This situation led to a series of protests by
merchants in recent years.
The merchants’ interests are also harmed by restrictions and
high tariffs on imports and exports. Goods cannot be exported
or imported without a special permit from the military
government. All imports must be via the Israeli Trade and In-
dustry Ministry. Trade between the West Bank and Gaza Strip
is prohibited, as is marketing the goods of the occupied ter-
ritories in ‘Israel’.
The commercial strike, which has been one of the most con-
stant factors of the uprising, since it began in December,
showed that the Palestinian merchants can no longer bear the
national oppression of the occupation. They have become
more aware of the fact that economic conditions will continue
to deteriorate as long as the occupation persists, especially with
the Israeli policy of dur »ing the burden of its own economic
crises on the 1967 occupied territories. In the long run, it 1s in
the interests of this strata, or at least part of it, to join in the
struggle for an independent Palestinian state, for this is a
prerequisite for a national market. Under the impact of the
uprising, Palestinian merchants displayed their readiness to
forgo immediate economic gains to join in the popular strug-
gle. Their decision was a blow not only to the Israeli occupiers,
but also to the Jordanian regime which has counted on big
merchants as the class base for its own plans to absorb the
West Bank or administer it jointly with the Israelis.
Though closing shops has often been a part of popular pro-
test over the twenty years of occupation, such strikes have been
of a few days duration and largely a symbolic protest. In the
current uprising, however, the commercial strike has been
pivotal. It concretely demonstrates that the situation is not
normal, there is no business as usual, the people won’t deal
with the occupation.
The occupation forces quite rightly took the commercial
strike as a major challenge. In the initial period, great efforts
were expended by Israeli troops to force shops to reopen.
Meanwhile, pro-Israeli media insinuated that the merchants
only stayed closed under threat from «radical forces». The
continuation of the uprising changed all this. It became clear
that the merchants closed because this was their contribution to
the uprising. In some periods, the soldiers stopped trying to
enfoce reopening because thi: was simply impossible. Mean-
while, the strike began to effect the Israeli economy by lost
sales and taxes. It became intertwined with the popular deci-
sion to boycott Israeli goods whenever possible. Israeli
Minister of Trade and Industry Ariel Sharon has said that there
was a huge decrease in the level of trade due to the Palestinian
boycott of Israeli goods. This boycott has at the same time
harmed the interests of those brokers who lived exclusively off
peddling Israeli goods, perhaps signalling a reshuffling within
the merchant class itself, in favor of smaller merchants whose
interests lie with the local Palestinian market.
The commercial strike has also served as a focal point of the
institutionalized uprising - the new routine of daily life
followed by the Palestinians under occupation in their effort to
move towards total civil disobedience. In line with the direc-
tives of the United National Leadership, the Palestinians began
to decide when the shops would open in order that the people
could get necessities. In Gaza, the merchants formed a com-
mittee to set the price of goods and prevent anyone from rais-
ing prices.
Phyllis Bennis, Middle East correspondent for the pro-
gressive US biweekly Frontline, described the situation after
visiting occupied Palestine the first week of April: «The com-
mercial strike has become a systematic way of life throughout
the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem - everywhere.
Shops are open from 9 to 12 noon, and then they close. You
don’t hear shopkeepers speculating about losing money, or
consumers wanting to do their shopping in the afternoon.
People have made the necessary adjustments... This shows that
the calls issued by the United National Leadership of the
Uprising are grounded in the needs and aspirations of the
masses. The leadership has a level of maturity whereby it
doesn’t ask people to make an unbearable level of sacrifice
forever. When there are general strikes, everything shuts down,
but in the main, there are exemptions that were worked out
collectively - bakeries, since bread is the basic staple; phar-
macies, because of the urgent need for medicine; and taxi
drivers are allowed to work. In some villages, stores might be
open all day, but these are very small villages where people
need to get goods at a different time than the one designated,
because they are working in the fields...
«Then there is the {sraeli response - for example, in
Ramallah, the army announced that the shops would not be
allowed to open in the morning and must open in the after-
noon. The merchants said no, they would not open in the
afternoon. So the soldiers said, fine, but you will not open in
the morning. So the merchants said they would not open at
all... So from 9 to 12, the time the shops would be open, the
streets are filled with people, talking and passing the word
about what’s going on, and the stores stay shut. At 12 noon
when, under the conditions of the strike, the shops would
close, the people go home, the way they do in the rest of the
territories.»
The Israeli determination to break the strike has been ex-
hibited time and time again. According to Israeli radio on
April 27th, 22 orders governing commercial operations have
been issued to this end. In the last week of April, the occupa-
tion forces mounted a major offensive in Jerusalem to reopen
the shops. Fourteen Palestinian merchants who refused were
detained and are now facing trial and extended imprisonment.
Still, the commercial strike reigns.
On May Ist this year, the Palestinian working class is waging
a battle in defense of Palestinian national rights, alongside all
the classes and strata that have interests in ending the occupa-
tion and achieving liberation. The uprising has showed the
breadth of the class alliance involved in the Palestinian strug-
gle, as merchants and peasants have taken an active role. Also
landlords have displayed their national solidarity by refraining
from collecting rents. All sectors are involved: Women and
students are also on the forefront, along with all the youth, >
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- Democratic Palestine : 29
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