fees to a discriminatory permit regime. These disruptions are facilitated by the fact that most of the quarries are located in what is now designated as Area C. Consequently, despite the fact that most of these quarries are on privately owned Palestinian land, they are under the planning system of the ICA, which was established by Israel to issue, renew or cancel permits to operate the quarries.191 Since 1994, Israel has refused to issue any permits for new quarries in Beit Fajjar,192 and has even stopped renewing permits for the quarries that had received approval previously.193 Moreover, Israel has hindered the export of stones and other materials extracted from the quarries in Beit Fajjar, as well as Palestinian quarries throughout the West Bank generally. The establishment of checkpoints and the construction of the Wall inhibit the flow of goods out of the West Bank into Israel and the Gaza Strip.194 Palestinian quarry exports also declined due to an increased competition with Israeli-run quarries in the West Bank. Israeli policies favor the products of Israeli colonies, significantly hampering the export potential of Palestinian products to other markets. For example, all the gravel that passes through Israeli checkpoints195 needs to be via the back-toback (BTB) mechanism. This mechanism requires that the Palestinian exports be taken on Palestinian trucks to the checkpoint, where they are unloaded and then reloaded onto Israeli trucks. The products extracted in Israeli-run quarries on the West Bank are transported directly into Israel, without having to change trucks or unload or reload the cargo.196 In 2016, Israeli soldiers raided 35 of the town’s quarries. They confiscated heavy equipment, detained quarry workers and shut down the quarries. According to the quarries’ owners and workers’ lawyer, “the military is conditioning return of the equipment on retroactive payment of extraction fees for stone quarried in the last three and a half years and a commitment that they [Palestinians] won’t reopen the quarries.”197 The livelihoods of around 3,500 workers depend on those quarries.198 Moreover, quarries were the main source of income in Beit Fajjar, as many more residents were employed in related industries such as stone crushing, producing marble products in factories, or selling marble. Therefore, because of the discriminatory Israeli 191 B’Tselem, “Military shutting down Palestinian quarries,” supra note 185. 192 Sherwood, “Israeli companies,” supra note 187. 193 B’Tselem, “Military shutting down Palestinian quarries,” supra note 185. 194 USM, The Aggregates Industry, 10, supra note 181. 195 With the exception of Beitunia. See, ibid. 196 USM, The Aggregates Industry, 11, supra note 181. 197 HRW, “Quarry Shutdown,” supra note 189. 198 Bashi, “Jews and Germans,” supra note 186. 51