Mays Abu Saleh – Palestine Economy Portal

Translated by Tamara Barakat

Yousef Al-Hajj Qassem, Public Relations Manager at the Chamber of Commerce estimates that there are more than 150 restaurants in Tulkarem. The great number of restaurants resulted from a chaotic market and lack of economic direction. Whenever a project seems successful, competitors invest in similar initiatives believing that they would bring them great profit.

Dr. Yousef Ashayer, head of Health and Licensing Department at the Tulkarem Municipality, said, “We do not have the capacity to control the number of restaurants in Tulkarem. If someone who meets the conditions and standards needed for a license applies for one, his or her request will be approved.”

A license is granted to anyone who desires to open a new restaurant after they make an official request to the Services Center at the Municipality, and provided that they own the space, that the Civil Defense approves of the safety and security measures at the restaurant, and that the Industries and Crafts manager inspects the restaurant.

Ashayer added that a restaurant must meet 28 health conditions, or else the owner will be fined and the restaurant will be closed for a specific period of time.

Role of Geography

Kamal Ghanem, general manager at the Ministry of National Economy in Tulkarem, attributed the increase in the number of restaurants to the proximity of Tulkarem to the Green Line. Palestinians who live in the 1948 Proper visit these restaurants especially during the periods of Ramadan and holidays. Moreover, Tulkarem is close to the Taybeh checkpoint, and consequently, thousands of Palestinian workers pass through the city on daily basis.

Ghanem added: In 2007, the Palestine Technical College – Kadorie was granted university status and its number of students increased to around 5,000. The dormitories near the University and the Mega Land Park located near the northern entrance of Tulkarem also contributed to reviving the area.

Additionally, Ghanem said that the declaration of Tulkarem as the “Governorate of Tourism” in 2014 and 2015 by Rola Ma'aia, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, and Abdullah Kamil, Tulkarem’s former governor, because of its distinguished archeological and touristic sites, parks, pools, and geographic location, increased internal tourism in Tulkarem.

Harmed Restaurants

Dalida Beirut, owner of the Moonlight Restaurant, said that the large number of new restaurants in Tulkarem had a negative effect on the profit of older restaurants, for they had to decrease their prices. She said, “Some of the newly opened restaurants don’t aim to make profit, but aim to compete against older restaurants. They end up destroying the older restaurants and not succeeding at the same time, and this doesn’t serve the economy of the country.”

Beirut estimates her restaurant’s losses at 40% during the previous period because of competition with other newly opened restaurants and the outburst of popular protests “habbeh,” which decreased the visits of Palestinians living in the 1948 Proper to Tulkarem’s restaurants.

She called on the Tulkarem Municipality to coordinate and control the issuing of licenses according to the city’s needs, and to form a committee responsible for controlling prices since many of the people visiting Tulkarem complain of its high prices, which drives them away from the city.

Another restaurant owner said, “My losses exceeded 60% because of the increase in the number of restaurants in the city and the difficult economic and political conditions citizens suffer from.”