In the memory of the Jerusalemites, the image of extreme overcrowding was printed in the markets of the Old City during what they call “the ends of the feast”, which are the days before the holidays, and the goods were running out and the merchants renewed the display of more of them from the severity of the demand before the advent of Eid al -Fitr and al -Adha in the past.
Although the decline in the demand for markets began to take an upward trend since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, then attempt to build the separation wall in 2002, the scarcity of turnout has turned into almost complete paralysis in the movement of shoppers in the old town since the outbreak of the last war in October 2023.
On a tour of the island, it started from Bab al -Amoud – which is one of the most frequently visited doors – we have noticed a heavy military presence inside and about the fixed control points of the occupation forces, and as soon as it is accessed to the fence, the visitor grabs the voices of the sellers whose stalls and their shops are divided on the sides of the road leading to the Khan al -Zait and Al -Wawal market.
Everyone calls for different goods, but their calls are very few, although the method of display is attractive, and the smells emitted from different ancient foods open the appetite of the fasting person to buy them.
Inside the Khan Al -Zait market, the faces of the merchants appear pale, and some of them put a chair in front of its) and sat on it because of the lack of visitors, and some of them exchange the parties to the conversation that the war and its painful repercussions on its throne.
Jerusalem merchant Yaqoub Qassem says that this is the eighteenth Ramadan that a merchant passes through in the Old City, but for the first time, this year, he feels that “the hearts of people are mate” and there are no pioneers for the old town that everyone fears to reach due to the siege and occupation harassment.
They called for the reconstruction of Al -Aqsa and the travelers of it for the reconstruction of the old town markets and its revival .. Al -Jazeera Net takes you on a tour inside the antique markets of Jerusalem to get to know the most prominent commodities of Ramadan and prices, and the market movement before the blessed month of Ramadan.
For more: pic.twitter.com/yvhbc0uijxAl -Jazeera Net Jerusalem (@Manhattan Tribunequds) February 28, 2025
Repellent procedures
In the details, Qasim said to Al -Jazeera Net, “The roads towards the old town are closed, and there are no situations for vehicles, and the soldiers searched people and achieved with them in the field, and if they bought us and complete their way to the Al -Aqsa Mosque, the police may not allow them to enter their purchases, and therefore there is no incentive for citizens to shop.”
This merchant hurts the migration of the Jerusalemites, the ancient markets and their dependence entirely on shopping from the markets in their neighborhoods and towns.
Despite this, the merchants – according to Qasim – were waiting for the month of Ramadan because they depend mainly on the people of the West Bank, who once arrived every year thirsty to roam and shop from historical markets.
But this year, the closure was tightened and the majority of them were prevented from reaching, and merchants are left to the material attrition due to the payment of exorbitant amounts of taxes and electricity service, and there is no income that covers these operational expenses.
Despite the tragic circumstances, this merchant, whose), in the middle of the Khan Al -Zait market refused to end his speech by broadcasting hope.
Support Palestinians inside
As for the merchant Anwar Abu Asb, the owner of one of the famous natural juices stores in the ancient, he was satisfied with describing the state of the markets before the feast as “Mazra”, adding that the people of the Palestinian interior support the merchants, but the occupation measures of security tightening in the old town and its surroundings reduce the presence of the people who made an appeal: “Support the country and support it because it is in your need, Something more beautiful than that.
Invitation to this merchant joins a number of invitations that circulate on communication platforms from time to time to support the steadfastness of the old town merchants with initiatives from at times and from other legal personalities at other times.
In this context, Jerusalem lawyer Hamza Qatina wrote a few days ago on his Facebook page, “The case of the old town markets in the standing of the feast is deserted, and the rest of the year is empty of its thrones …
He continued, “My brother, I support the adjacent to the Al -Aqsa Mosque, and fix them in those fortresses, go to any empty shop from customers and buy two hundred shekels, with the intention of strengthening the ligament, whether you need that purpose or not, and do not care about all the obstacles and the hardship of arrival … The harm of deserting these markets on all is more than the owners of those stores.”
A dangerous situation
Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jerusalem, Hegazy Al -Rashq, started his speech to the island: “The current commercial situation in Jerusalem was unprecedented, as it was very significant, whether on the scale of the province in general, or the old town in particular, as a result of the repercussions of the ongoing war.”
In a statistic of the Chamber of Commerce, Al -Rashsh says, “During the war period, we found that only 9% of the shops work naturally, which are specialized in foodstuffs and home commodities, and 34% of the shops that follow the tourism sector are completely paralyzed, and there is no income for workers in this sector, and the rest of the commercial segments such as clothing and shoes work in swinging and forming 54% of the stores.”
Al -Rashsh pointed out the importance of attention to the fact that the psychological state of the sanctuaries is very deteriorating due to the war of extermination in Gaza and what is happening in the northern West Bank governorates of killing, displacement and demolition, and this affects the general mood, in addition to erosion in the capital of the citizen, there is no income, and whoever has savings that drain it during this period and this is reflected on the movement in the markets automatically.
Despite the deteriorating economic situation in general, the throat noticed a recovery in the Jerusalemites movement in the commercial streets surrounding the old town, such as Salah al -Din al -Ayyubi, Zahra and Sultan Suleiman, while avoiding the Jerusalemites to go to the West Bank markets due to the closures and military barriers where they stay for long hours.
According to the data of the Chamber of Commerce, the Old City of Jerusalem includes 1372 commercial stores, 312 of which closed its doors from 1967 until 2020 in which the Corona pandemic arrived in the country, and during the pace the number of closed stores increased to 352, and in the current war some merchants opens the doors of their shops in fluctuation, but no more shopping closure has not been registered permanently.
