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Economic Uprising Disturbs Israel! Confrontation
and war are not confined to the battlefields only. Rather, they extend to many
other arenas – of which economics is one of the foremost. This reality
is so relevant to Palestines that their uprising to protest the efforts of the
Israelis – with banners, stones and the like, must be accompanied by an
economic uprising as well. This article discusses this matter. Impact
of the Uprising: “It is clear that the Palestinian economy is closely
related to the Israeli one in that the former is subordinate to the latter since
the occupation in 1967,” says Mazen Al-Egla, an economist. Asserting
that the Israeli economy directly affects the Palestinian economy, Al-Egla says
that the Israeli economy, however, is not affected by what is going on in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. “The Israeli economy, the volume of whose product is
$111 billion, can absorb the limited impact of what is taking place in these two
areas.” Dr.
Mohamed Meqdad is of the opinion that the Palestinian uprising can have a
negative impact on the Israeli economy, particularly if Israeli commodities are
comprehensively boycotted. “If we boycott the Israeli goods as a whole,
not only those produced in settlements, the Israeli economy will be negatively
affected because 80% of our imports are from Israel,” says Meqdad. Al-Egla
believes that the development of events within territories inside the Zionist
entity, as of 1948, has greatly affected the Israeli economy. “The
participation of the Arabs of 1948 in the events caused damage to some Israeli
buildings and public property and resulted in some commercial and industrial
harms, estimated by Hebrew sources at about 250 million shekels,” he says. Palestinians’
Steadfastness: Dr.
Meqdad feels that Palestinians should observe economic steadfastness.
However, their ability to do so is contingent upon many factors. He
states, “Our ability to observe economic steadfastness is linked to our
capability to change ties between the Palestinians and the neighboring Arab
countries,” affirming that the Palestinians’ strongest trade relations are
with Israel. “If we had a free rein in trade and had our checkpoints, we
would import and export freely and the uprising would continue to affect Israel
strongly.” Al-Egla
is not optimistic about observing economic steadfastness. “Our subordination
to the Israeli economy does not give us room for talking about economic
steadfastness,” he asserts. “The capabilities of the Palestinian
economy are so weak that they cannot qualify the Palestinian society for such
steadfastness. Talk, voiced at present about boycott, revolves around
reducing the import volume in the form of boycotting some products and luxurious
commodities. The Palestinians import their flour, fuel, clothes and tools
necessary for their houses from Israel. Hence, it is difficult to speak
about steadfastness and self-sufficiency,” Al-Egla says. Dr.
Meqdad is not denying that the current uprising is having a negative impact on
the Palestinian people as well. However, he argues, it is having a greater
negative impact on the Israelis. “Goods, which they export to us, will not be
exported to others because they do not fit them. Moreover, the Israelis
are in need of Palestinian labor. They will be surely affected,” he says. Role
of Arab Boycott: However,
Dr. Meqdad does raise questions that need to be addressed regarding the extent
of the Arab boycott and the likelihood of its success. He asserts that the
boycott will deal a lethal strike to the Israeli economy, if it is adopted by
all Arab countries. Both
Al-Egla and Meqdad agree that any oppressed peoples desiring to liberate
themselves and their land must make sacrifices and incur losses. “Our
economy will be negatively affected, but as we are struggling, we will endure
all economic consequences and harms that may afflict us,” says Meqdad. 
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