Huwara is Dying Economically – Why?

Shai Negrekar and his son Aviad were killed point blank by a Palestinian terrorist on Saturday afternoon in Huwara. The two were running errands in the West Bank town, frequented for the cheaper prices.

The father and son from the southern Ashdod visited the West Bank town regularly, as do many other Israelis looking for cheap prices, especially at mechanics. The car wash at the center of the attack in Huwara had advertised its services in Hebrew. But the area has started to become a flashpoint for attacks in recent months. 

Many times the Palestinian terrorists target soldiers stationed along the main road of the town, safeguarding Israelis who use it to travel to and from settlements, but the flashpoint area has gotten deadlier in 2023.

Israel started building a bypass road that would allow settlers to avoid the Palestinian town, but it hasn’t been without controversy. Even on Sunday, the construction workers at the site were worried that they wouldn’t make it to work after the Israeli army closed roads in the area, some really didn’t make it. And many are concerned about what might follow the terrorist attack.

“There are Israelis who come. But, a supermarket employee in Huwara told i24NEWS, “any security incident that happens here in the street has an impact on our economy.”

“The main road is dying. So is the economy in the town and also in Nablus and the surrounding villages. The people are certainly scared for themselves, for their families and their children, their work. For example, there are people from Nablus working in Ramallah and they are scared because they have to use this road.”

Residents and shop owners have stated that Israelis in town were not a rare phenomenon. Off camera, many say that they have friends from Israel, but they are concerned that there might be a lot less customers because of attacks like the one that occurred Sunday.

So just who is in control in Huwara? the residents who live there or the terrorists?,

In total, according to Israel's Channel 12, there were 300 incidents during the past year in which Israelis had to be rescued and retrieved from the West Bank.