the twelfth largest producer of stone and marble in the world,250 and a third
of all Palestinian factories are in and around Beit Fajjar. Located 10.3 km
south of Bethlehem city, within the Bethlehem governorate, 80 percent of
the population in Beit Fajjar are dependent on the stone industry.251 Under
the Oslo Accords, however, 85.7 percent of Beit Fajjar was designated as
Area B and the remainder 14.3 percent was assigned as Area C.252 Through
this zoning, Israel has ensured it has sole authority over this very lucrative
industry, its players, and potential competition. Compounded with the fact
that 70 percent of the stone produced is exported to the Israeli market,253
Israel is able to dictate which quarries will be given permits to operate,
impose travel and export restrictions, confiscate machinery and equipment
from quarries operating without permits, and assist Israeli companies
in opening new quarries on Palestinian land.254 As such, this economic
coercion has restricted Palestinian autonomy as they are unable to build
new quarries or to operate independently, thus undermining the industry
as a whole, and preventing more people from seeking employment in this
industry.
Dependence on alternative unstable industries
With Israeli policies stifling the viability, efficiency, and desire to engage
in key industries, Bethlehem residents have been compelled to seek out
alternative employment. The two fastest growing areas of employment
have been Bethlehem’s tourism industry and the Israeli labor market.
However, neither of these options are particularly stable. Both tourism and
the Israeli labor market are seasonal and operate on a non-contractual and
casual basis. This instability leaves workers in a precarious situation as they
are frequently left in-limbo, uncertain of when they will have an income,
and enduring the likelihood of being left jobless throughout different times
of the year, until another opportunity presents itself.
While the tourism industry’s share in Bethlehem’s GDP has noticeably
250 Ibid.
251 ARIJ, “Beit Fajjar Town Profile” (2010), 9, available at: http://vprofile.arij.org/bethlehem/pdfs/VP/
Beit%20Fajjar_tp_en.pdf
252 Id., 17.
253 International Trade Center, supra 250, 6.
254 Many of the owners of Beit Fajjar’s stone quarries have struggled for many years to obtain permits to
legally run their quarries. These permits are applied for via Israel’s Civil Administration – many times,
the permits are outright rejected, or illogical reasons are given as to why the permit was not issued.
See HRW, Occupation, Inc.- How Settlement Businesses Contribute to Israel’s Violations of Palestinian
Rights (19 January 2016), 41-42, available at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/
iopt1210webwcover_0.pdf. Clarno, supra 5, 103.
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