The bypass roads, checkpoints, land confiscation and Wall construction, which the city of
The Israeli police wait at the entrance of the city, issue fines and detain cars for hours. Shoppers are forced to walk into the closed city and must have permits or proof of residency to be able to enter Qalqilia.
The Secretary of the Mayor of Qalqilia, Hashem Al Masri, informed PNN that preventing Arab shoppers from entering the city is killing what is left of its economic life. The labor market is paralyzed from closures, while Israeli forces have confiscated agricultural lands. After this, the city residents came to rely on a small amount of commerce from, as Al Masri put it, "our people inside ." He added that the Municipality revenues will also be affected from the latest restrictions since most of the visitors to the Zoo are Palestinians coming from inside Israeli borders.
A merchant and Chamber of Commerce member, Ahmed Jaidi, said that the Israeli soldiers’ harassment of shoppers has led to additional store closures. He added that during the last Intifada 600 shops in Qalqilia were closed because of the deteriorating economic situation. Tens are threatened to close because of the systematic Israeli policy of destroying the Palestinian economy.
A city merchant, Omar Nofal, said, "We are depressed from these latest measures especially as always aims to isolate the city."
Qalqilia is in the northwestern West Bank, is surrounded by the Wall with access into the rest of the
