Sales of Israeli goods in West Bank down 50% due to boycott
Palestinian businesses are seeing a spike in activity as locals are increasingly searching for Palestinian alternatives to Israeli products.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — In a convenience store in Ramallah, Muhammad Ali, 9, asked his mother to buy him some juice, but told her, “I do not want an Israeli one.” When Al-Monitor asked him why, he replied, “Because they are killing the children in Gaza.”
This child may not be aware that there are thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who are currently boycotting Israeli products in response to public and youth campaigns. There are posters calling for the boycott everywhere in the West Bank.
It is not yet clear what impact this will have on either the Israeli or Palestinian economy, but analysts and campaign organizers say this is not just about economy. Khaled Mansour, a leading activist in the boycott and a member of the Palestinian People’s Party, believes that “this should be a way of living in Palestinian society.” Birzeit University academic and economic analyst Naser Abdul Kareem said, “The campaigns to boycott Israeli products go beyond the economic repercussions because this is a patriotic and moral duty that contributes, even if only partially, in eliminating the economic dependence on Israel.”
The head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Oula Awad, told Al-Monitor that the effects of the boycott campaigns have not yet appeared in the official data. She said more than 70% of Palestinian imports come from Israel or through it.
