Palestinian merchant punished for having picture of Turkish president

JERUSALEM (AA) - With Israeli police and tax authorities cracking down on Palestinian businesses in Jerusalem’s Old City, one told how he was punished for merely having a photo of Turkey’s president at his shop.

Merchants said Israeli municipal authorities have issued hefty fines against them for flimsy pretexts, including the failure to wear masks while in their shops.

Imad Abu Khadija told Anadolu Agency that officials of the Jerusalem Municipality and the tax authority backed by police raided his shop on Bab al-Silsila Road in the Old City.

"They issued several fines against me for flimsy reasons, including the presence of a gas cylinder inside the shop, and lack of a cash register to record sales," he said.

"They even punished me for having a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in my shop, and I tried to ask them the reason, but their answer was only one word: forbidden."

Erdogan and the Turkish government have been outspoken in protesting Israeli human rights abuses against Palestinians and championing East Jerusalem’s rightful status as capital of a Palestinian state.

Abu Khadija said the “crackdown campaigns in the Old City are aimed at forcing us to leave our shops and close them."

"We only work to pay taxes, we have been burdened with taxes at a time when there is almost no commercial activity," he added.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli municipal authorities also fined several Palestinian merchants in the area.

For years, Palestinian businesses in Jerusalem’s Old City have suffered recession exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

There was no comment from Israeli authorities on the report.

International law regards both the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there illegal.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat