The Resistance Economy in the Eye of the First Intifada
Throughout history, Palestinians have adopted different forms of resistance in their struggle to end their oppression under Israeli occupation. One such effective form of resistance during the First Intifada was the resistance economy. The resistance economy in the case of Palestine is a social and economic instrument that empowers ordinary people through the establishment of a self-sufficient economy, independent of Israeli control. By boycotting Israeli products, organizing strikes, and withholding tax payments, Palestinians exercised unarmed pressure on Israel to end its oppressive policies. The resistance economy demonstrated the ability of ordinary Palestinians to become self-reliant and economically empowered.
Economic Self-Sufficiency: The Case of Beit Sahour
The documentary The Wanted 18 sheds light on how Palestinians embraced the resistance economy during the First Intifada in the West Bank. Specifically, it highlights events in the village of Beit Sahour, when Palestinian residents purchased eighteen cows to participate in the resistance economy. Despite having limited experience with dairy farming, they quickly learned how to farm dairy and began supplying their community with dairy products to compensate for the boycotted Israeli goods. However, once Israel eventually learned of the cows, it sought to seize them from the farmers by declaring those cows a “national security threat.” This incident indicates how Israel realized it could lose control over the West Bank if Palestinians became less reliant on its economy.
Oslo and the PER: An Obstacle to Building True Palestinian Economy
The First Intifada came to an end when the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. A few months later, they signed the Protocol on Economic Relations (PER) to formalize their economic relations for an interim period of five years. Although the PER was set to expire in 1999, it remains in effect today, which has restrained the real development of an independent Palestinian economy. By 2018, for instance, 80 percent of all Palestinian imports came from Israel, suggesting the deep dependency of Palestinians on the Israeli economy. As Israel has full control of Area C in the West Bank and fully exploits its water and mineral resources, the Palestinian economy was forced to shift away from productive sectors and is now largely based on the service sector. By 2009, the service sector accounted for 60 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) total GDP, indicating a shift away from productive sectors.
The Diminishment of Agriculture and the Resistance Economy Today
The agricultural sector in the West Bank has witnessed a sharp decline over the years. Accounting for roughly 53 percent of the total GDP in 1967, it was responsible for only 13 percent of the total GDP in 1994, and this number has further declined, reaching 3.4 percent in 2016. Additionally, 31 percent of OPT households are now at risk of food insecurity.
Despite Israel’s strict control over the Palestinian economy, Palestinians continue to find creative ways to participate in the resistance economy and revive agriculture, such as the Marda Permaculture Farm. Founded by Murad Alkhufash in 2006 in the town of Marda, the farm aims to create sustainable agricultural practices and restore the local economy. Alkhufash stated that “the vision of the Marda Permaculture Farm is to revive traditional indigenous farming techniques, connect younger generations to their roots and promote healthy and sustainable lifestyles in the Palestinian community.”
Another example of Palestinians participating in the resistance economy today is Amoro Agriculture, the first Palestinian mushroom farm. Four Palestinian friends established the farm in 2013 after they boycotted Israeli products and were inspired to take action to create a local alternative for Israeli mushrooms in the market. Given that Israel controls the imports and exports of the West Bank, it did not release the spores that Amoro Agriculture imported from Holland until they were dead in order to dismantle the farm. Just as Israel sought to confiscate the eighteen cows in Beit Sahour during the First Intifada, the case of Amoro Agriculture shows that any Palestinian attempt to reach economic self-sufficiency would be perceived as a “national security threat” by Israel.
The Takeaway
The fact that Palestinians have demonstrated their ability to utilize the resistance economy as an effective instrument to fight against Israeli occupation during the First Intifada led Israel to perceive any attempts to develop a self-sufficient Palestinian economy in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a “national security threat”, as was evidently shown in the case of Beit Sahour and Amoro Agriculture. This has largely led to the deterioration of agriculture and other productive sectors in the Palestinian economy since 1967 in order to keep it under Israeli control. Israel managed to do that through the exploitation of Palestinian labor and natural resources, especially since the Oslo Accords was signed. Therefore, in addition to Israel’s policies aimed at keeping Palestinians dependent on its economy, it is crucial to note that the PA, which became recognized by the international community as the legitimate governing entity for Palestinians after signing Oslo, should also be held accountable for the underdevelopment of the Palestinian economy. Afterall, the state of the Palestinian economy today is the direct result of the imbalanced negotiation agreements that the PA has reached since then, which have done nothing but compromise Palestinian land and the livelihood of Palestinians.
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This article was written by an intern at The Jerusalem Fund. The views in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.
