During Ramadan in the campaign to boycott Israeli goods, demonstrators sent the message âBreak Fast But Don’t Make Occupation.â A grassroots campaign to boycott Israeli goods on was organized on Saturday, August 6, 2011. A mass-mobilization campaign was held in the streets of the city of Tulkarm, in which 40 activists carried banners to urge citizens to boycott Israeli goods as a form of popular resistance against the Occupation and in order to inflict losses on the economy of Occupation. Activists walked in the city center and on main streets, talking with merchants and citizens and conducting discussions to explain the objectives of the project. They also stopped cars in the area of Gamal Abdel Nasser chanting slogans and telling people the message of the project.
The campaign has had a strong response from citizens and the efforts of activists are applauded by most citizens. The idea of the project is supported although some wonder about the roles of power, demanding that official bodies do more to prevent the flooding of the Palestinian market with not only Israeli products but also settlement products. Some asked, âWhy are the Palestinian producers not delivered to all shops?â and âWhy is there not more interest in improving the quality of Palestinian products in order to become competitive against the strongest of Israeli products?â
Khaled Mansour, member of the Executive Office of the popular campaign of resistance to the wall and settlements and the coordinator of the Popular Campaign for the district, said that the Ramadan campaign began in Tulkarm but it will spread all over the country and that the grassroots campaign to boycott Israeli goods has developed a complete plan to work in all major cities during Ramadan. They hope to consolidate the culture of the project in the conscience of the Palestinian masses. Mansour appeals to the Palestinian private sector to support the popular campaign for boycott, explaining that Palestinian producers as the main beneficiaries a boycott of Israeli goods.
Jamal Barham, member of the Executive Office of the popular campaign against the Wall and settlement said that the People’s Campaign of the district will do its utmost in order to reach wider groups of Palestinian society in order to change the behavior of Palestinians towards Israeli goods so that they refuse to deal with the purchase and sale of Israeli goods. They hope to reach a situation in which markets clean Israeli products from all of the Palestinian shops and that the alternatives are national or foreign. Barham said he wants to expand and grow the movement of boycott against Israel economically, culturally, academically, and in sports all over the world, which so far has been thanks to the effort of friends of the Palestinian people and international solidarity committees.
Suhail Salman, Coordinator of the Popular Committees Against the Wall and the Settlements, said that the boycott is a weapon that Palestinians can use to inflict losses on the Occupation by depriving them of part of the money Aschrōha service charges the military. He said it is proposed that the people strengthen the Palestinian national economy by contributing to national goods, which enhances employment.