Palestinians say that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the executions in the West Bank have dampened the joy of the upcoming Eid al-Adha and obscured its features, noting that the occasion is limited to religious rituals only.
Eid al-Adha falls next Sunday, at a time when Israel continues its war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, leaving more than 122,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.
Since that day, the army and Israeli settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank as well, which led to the killing of 537 Palestinians and the wounding of about 5,200, according to official Palestinian authorities.
There is no joy this year regarding Eid
The markets of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank, ahead of Eid al-Adha, seem flooded with goods, and merchants talk about weak demand, and citizens say that “there is no joy this year for Eid.”
Palestinian Nader Abu Arab believes that Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and the continued killing in the West Bank have burdened people and robbed them of the joy of Eid. “There is no joy anymore. In every funeral home, there are dozens killed every day. Our situation is worse than it was during the Nakba in 1948.”
He continues, “The Eid is limited to religious rituals, supplication, and helping the families of the martyrs and the displaced.”
Mustafa Samir shares this opinion by saying, “This holiday is for worship. There is no room for joy. How can there be joy when our people are being killed and massacres are committed daily?”
Samir (36 years old) adds, “It is better to make the Eid to help the families of the displaced and the families who lost their breadwinners.”
The second Eid in the shadow of war
Trader Osama Abboud says, “This second Eid comes in the shadow of war. There is no joy. Few people shop and buy new clothes for Eid.”
Abboud, the owner of a clothing store in Ramallah, adds, “Sales decreased by more than 70% and more, compared to last year.”
Despite offering discounts on clothing for young men and women, the situation has not changed, according to him.
He attributed this to the Israeli war on Gaza, the ongoing mourning for the lives of the victims, the daily destruction, and the deteriorating economic situation in the West Bank.
Next to his store, the Palestinian Bilal Kazem sits, complaining about the same situation. He says, “We are still offering Eid al-Fitr goods. There is no movement in the market. People come to buy only what is necessary… Thank God. In any case, the situation in Gaza is reflected in the West Bank. We are a people.” One”.
Empty pockets and reduced salaries
In turn, Samer Arafat (47 years old), a government employee, says that he cannot buy Eid al-Adha obligations this year due to the deteriorating financial conditions.
He added, “For years we have been receiving incomplete salaries, and recently 50% of salaries were disbursed, which had a negative impact on all aspects of life.”
Arafat continues, “Amid the high cost of living and increasing needs, Eid clothing has become almost impossible.”
For his part, Abdul Karim Younis states that the rituals are limited to family ties and religious rituals only, and that “there is no room for joy in light of the ongoing war.”
He says, “In the West Bank, we are also experiencing another war waged by settlers on towns and roads, in addition to an economic war represented by the withholding of clearance funds by Israel, which has had a negative impact on our daily lives.”
Younis, a government employee, added, “This year there is no joy, no sacrifice, and no clothes for Eid.”
Because the Palestinians’ ability to purchase Eid supplies is weak, this was most evident in the sacrificial markets in the West Bank governorates.
During Anatolia’s tour of a central market for sacrifices in Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, the purchasing activity appeared weak, 4 days before the Eid.
Livestock traders complain of weak purchasing power, scarcity of liquidity in the markets, and the high cost of raising livestock, due to an increase in feed prices.
The average price of a kilo of lean lamb meat (before slaughter) is sold in the West Bank, $11, compared to $8.5 last season.
Financial crisis and accumulated debts
Because of the financial crisis it is suffering from, the Palestinian government announced last April the activation of an austerity plan, due to Israel’s deductions from tax funds and the deterioration of foreign grants.
As of November 2021, the previous Palestinian government was unable to pay full wages to public employees, due to Israel’s deductions from clearance funds and the decline in external support.
Until the eve of the Israeli war on Gaza, public employees, retirees and those with financial allowances were receiving up to 80% of their full monthly wages, and the remaining percentage was allocated as “debts” owed by the government to the beneficiaries.
However, since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, Israel has suspended the transfer of clearing funds to the Palestinian side, after announcing an additional monthly deduction of 275 million shekels ($74 million), representing what the Palestinian government transfers to the Gaza Strip (in exchange for its employees’ wage bill and money for the electricity company).
Today, the Palestinian government is left with only the revenues it collects locally, with a value not exceeding 350 million shekels per month, and any external grants that do not exceed 50 million shekels per month, which prompted it to pay half salaries, whenever it is available.
This was exacerbated by the loss in West Bank markets of approximately 12.6 billion shekels ($3.4 billion), representing the wage bill for Palestinian workers in Israel, since the war on Gaza.
This number represents approximately 17.5% of Palestine’s gross domestic product, according to 2023 figures.
