Commerce unites Arabs and Israelis in West Bank town
By Houssam Ezzedine
MAS'HAH, West Bank (AFP): Indifferent to the negotiations underway at Camp David and the prospects of further violence in the West Bank, Israelis hurry in their hundreds to Palestinian merchant stands here in search of one thing: a good deal.
On Saturdays, Mas'hah, near Salfit in the northern West Bank, offers a near-perfect image of Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.
Thousands of Israelis come here each week to peruse the stands of some 600 vendors, where they find hard-to-beat prices on everything from furniture and carpets to domestic appliances.
"Here relations are purely commercial," said Anwar Amer, head of the Rural Palestinian Council. "Palestinians take advantage of the situation, which reduces unemployment in and near the village."
Mas'hah is in Zone B, where security is in the hands of the Israelis and civil affairs are controlled by the Palestinian authority. But the street where the bargains can be found is in Zone C, which is under complete Israeli control.
Miriam Shiri came here with her husband from Tel Aviv to hunt for furniture. Her reticence to talk politics changed at the mention of Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem is in the heart of all Jews around the world. It shouldn't be divided nor even less given up," she argued.
Her husband took a more accommodating line.
"The Palestinians can have rights on the eastern part of the city that holds their sacred sites," he said, before the couple continued with their shopping.
The prices here are unbeatable, owing both to the low cost of Palestinian products and to the large number of items smuggled in from Israel.
Security in this Palestinian town does not seem to be a concern for Israeli shoppers, who are reassured by the Israeli army presence here, although Palestinian shopkeepers say the pace slows down whenever the political situation grows tense.
Mas'hah is close to the green line that separates the West Bank from Israel and, along with Salfit, is encircled by 18 Jewish settlements, which have changed the demographic composition of the area. The 19 Palestinian villages in the area have 50,000 residents, while the Jewish settlements are home to 45,000.
Ryd Amer, a Palestinian, compares the situation to Jerusalem: "No agreement will be able to separate Israelis and Palestinians completely."
Yitzhak Ezer, an Israeli merchant who sells construction supplies to Palestinians, agrees. He notes that he has more friends and acquaintances among Palestinians than among residents of his settlement.
"Putting up a border between the Palestinians and Israelis will not result in a complete separation between the two," Ezer said.
"Borders are in the heads of those who want to put them up," he said with conviction. "Economics will tear them down."