RAMALLAH, West Bank — Poultry farmers in the West Bank are suffering heavy financial losses as chickens smuggled in from Israel and Israeli settlements have sent prices plummeting far below what it costs West Bank farmers to raise the birds.
On Nov. 19, customs officials in Hebron in the southern West Bank seized 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) of live chickens and 660 kilograms (1,455 pounds) of slaughtered chickens unsuitable for human consumption. On Nov. 15, the administration confiscated 1.5 metric tons (about 3,300 pounds) of live chickens in the city.