Security aids Jenin’s economy

JENIN, West Bank | Once infamous as a nest of suicide bombers and militant gangs, this war-torn corner of the West Bank has seen the beginnings of an economic recovery amid efforts to re-establish law and order, Israeli and Palestinian officials say.

Israel’s army recently began letting thousands of its Arab citizens cross into Jenin for shopping and family visits, a move expected to bring an influx of cash to the region.

“The siege has been broken partially. It plants hope in the hearts of Palestinian people,” said Qaddoura Moussa, the Palestinian Authority’s governor of Jenin. “Suddenly, our priorities have changed. We’re getting back to serving the people.”

Among the most pressing needs, Mr. Moussa said the area is struggling with is chronic unemployment of nearly 50 percent.

Israel has opened its border with the northern West Bank to 50 percent more Palestinian day laborers and local merchants. And there are plans for an industrial zone near Jenin that could employ up to 20,000 people, helping reduce Jenin’s dependence on economic links with Israel.

The northern West Bank also has become a popular stop for visiting European and Arab diplomats to tour water, electricity, sewerage and industrial projects that are moving ahead in remote villages.

Crucial to the economic revitalization, the Palestinian Authority and its security services in the Jenin area have bolstered efforts during the last year to stop crime and re-establish order.

“The Palestinian side woke up a year ago. They realized that it’s worth it to put their house in order, or they’ll go in the same direction as Gaza,” said one Israeli military officer in a rare moment of praise for the Palestinian security services. “They started creating security among the residents because they realized that public order serves their interests.”

Ongoing operations by Palestinian police against local criminals have had a “measure of success” even if they haven’t uprooted militant cells, said the officer, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing security efforts.

In recent weeks, 700 police officers who finished a Jordanian training course overseen by American advisers were deployed to the Jenin region, where three new police stations are scheduled to open.

Lt. Col. Fares Atila, who heads Israel’s civil liaison office in the Jenin region, talked about the “Jenin model” as he jumped through a slide presentation detailing a laundry list of security, civilian and infrastructure improvements.

“It’s already a success, and we’re going to expand it,” Col. Atila said.

The efforts are significant because during the first year and a half of the Palestinian intifada, which began in 2000, Jenin supplied nearly one-quarter of all suicide bombers, Israeli officials say.

As part of a West Bank-wide offensive to root out militant groups and retake Palestinian cities, Israel’s army fought Jenin gunmen for eight days in April 2002. The fighting focused on the Jenin refugee camp, the crowded slum district that served as a stronghold for Palestinian fighters during the uprising.

Though Palestinian officials and international diplomats were quick to call the Jenin operation a massacre, only about 56 Palestinians were killed to about 23 Israeli soldiers. As many as 9 percent of the refugee camp’s houses were destroyed.

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