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Palestinians say no to work in settlements

A local Palestinian organization launched a project titled “No to Work in Settlements” with the aim of employing Palestinian women entrepreneurs in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, away from their work in Israeli settlements.
A general view taken on March 3, 2020, shows Palestinian farmers working in an agricultural field.

Hala Abdel Karim, 36, is among 42 female entrepreneurs who were selected by the Ma’an Development Center to receive a financial grant and set up their own business as part of the “No to Work in Settlements” project. She lives in the village of Zbeidat located in the Jordan Valley on the border between the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

She spends her day working on her farm in the Jordan Valley, which stretches over about 650 dunums, as she grows and picks aromatic herbs, especially basil, for export to foreign countries. This came as an alternative to her work in the Israeli settlements, which resulted from the lack of opportunities in the Palestinian labor market.

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