Visit to the Mayor

We were welcomed to the town of Tulkarm by the Mayor, Eyad Jallael along with his Director, Abdul Ghalek. During our conversation at his municiple office he mentioned that his vision is for Palestians is to live side by side with their neighbours. "We are all human beings and should be considered as equals" he said.

A few days later we met with the Director in the Ministry of Labour and Economics, Ahmed Drobe. He mentioned that Tulkarem, a predominantly agricultural town showed financial promise and growth before the two Intifadas. Considered as the "food basket" for the West Bank because it was the commercial gate for import and export but today the unemployment rate of the town has increased to 27%. Fewer workers are able to reach the labour market since the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the building of the seperation wall in 2002. It seems as if the West Bank is slowly becoming financially dependant on Israel for its existance because economic liquidity is under control of Israel. Furthermore, the nearby villages are surrounded by Israeli settlers who make movement very difficult for the Palestinians. They have no contact with each other for fear of conflict and intimidation.