Oct. 30, 2015

Stabbing at a West Bank Supermarket – A Blow to Coexistence?– Pinhas Inbari and Lenny Ben-David
A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli woman outside the Rami Levy supermarket in the Etzion Bloc on Oct. 28. According to Western logic, including that of Israelis, Palestinians have a vested interest in keeping their jobs in stores and factories near the Jewish settlements in the territories. But some Palestinians – including the Palestinian Authority (PA) – see things differently. They fear that being involved in economic cooperation with Israelis will alienate the Palestinian people from “the struggle” and therefore must be prevented. This includes the Rami Levy supermarket chain.
The PA is also opposed to workers who work in Israeli industrial zones in the West Bank. Therefore, Israel’s policy of positive economic gestures may convince the West of its good intentions, but the PA itself is opposed to these gestures.
Five years ago, a Palestinian official in charge of boycotting economic cooperation with Israel visited the Rami Levy market to view her enemy. She found all her relatives, neighbors and acquaintances there purchasing their needs for the week. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

The Economic Costs of Palestinian Unrest in the West Bank – Dani Rubinstein
There are 14 Israeli industrial zones in the West Bank, including Adumim near Jericho with 330 factories, Barkan in Samaria with 160 factories and the zone between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The factories are involved in food processing, textiles, printing, furniture manufacturing, construction and plastics. More than 30,000 Palestinians are employed in these industrial zones, with some 20,000 more working in construction, transport, supply and agriculture. In total, more than 200,000 Palestinians make a living from activities in contact with Israel and represent more than one-quarter of the Palestinian workforce. (Calcalist-Hebrew-Worldcrunch)