VZCZCXRO1147
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #2401 3241328
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201328Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9723
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR NEA/IPA; NSC FOR ABRAMS/WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL KWBG
SUBJECT: WITH ORDER SLOWLY RETURNING, NABLUS BUSINESS LOOKS 
UP 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Improving security in Nablus is beginning 
to pay off for local businesses, according to business 
contacts in the city.  They report that residents feel much 
more comfortable walking the streets following the PA's 
deployment of security forces this month.  This increased 
sense of security has translated into more shoppers and 
longer store hours, giving the local economy a much needed 
boost.  Nablus contacts caution, however, that recovering the 
economic ground lost over the last seven years will not come 
easy.  They say there has been no loosening of restrictions 
on access and movement that hinder local commerce and largely 
isolate the city.  End Summary. 
 
Order on the Streets = More Shoppers 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Leading Nablus businessmen and other economic 
contacts tell Econoffs that the deployment of PA Security 
Force personnel to the city's streets in early November has 
improved the security environment, providing a boost to local 
business.  According to Dr. Hishan Awarti, Director of the 
Nablus Center for Private Sector Development, the greater 
sense of security has brought more shoppers into the streets 
and put more money into the pockets of local retailers.  Zahi 
Khoury, head of the National Beverage Company, told EconChief 
that he is hearing "only good news" from his Nablus 
distributors.  He said that there has been a return to "order 
if not law" on the streets, with the noticeable disappearance 
of armed gangs, allowing his distributors to move around 
"more freely and with more confidence." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Khalid Misleh of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce 
reports that stores previously closed by 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. 
are now staying open until 7:00.  He said shop owners are 
benefiting from the removal of unlicensed sidewalk vendors, 
allowing people to walk more freely on main shopping streets. 
 The police are checking vehicle registrations and 
confiscating stolen cars that were often used as taxis, 
boosting the business of legitimate taxi drivers.  One 
prominent Nablus businessman said that "thousands" of stolen 
cars disappeared from the streets nearly overnight following 
the arrival of PA forces. 
 
Access and Movement Still a Dominant Concern 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU) ConGen business contacts, despite their optimistic 
take on security progress, are quick to reiterate their 
concerns about restrictions on movement in and out of the 
city.  The Nablus Center's Dr. Awarti cautions that seven 
years of sharp economic decline cannot be reversed "at the 
push of a button."  The boost to business could be 
short-lived if the checkpoints and roadblocks that are 
"choking" the local economy are not lifted.  Local 
businessman Ziad Anabtawi told ConGenOffs that his shops are 
truly profitable only when they can draw customers from 
surrounding villages, which are still effectively cut off 
from the city. 
 
¶5. (SBU) UN OCHA local staff member Saad Abdel-Hak said 
Nablus residents are shopping in neighborhoods that until 
recently were too dangerous to walk through.  However, he 
foresees no improvement in access and movement around Nablus. 
 He said the UN has been informed that a northern Nablus 
checkpoint (Asira ash-Shamalia) will soon be closed to 
commercial truck traffic, forcing shippers to use a 
checkpoint (Awarta) south of the city. 
WALLES