Suddenly, a spot of light has illuminated the dark street running from Mount Scopus to the French Hill neighborhood in Jerusalem.
The falafel stand is back.
For years the little stand had served up what some called the best falafel in town to Hebrew University students living in the dormitories across the street.
But then came the intifada, and its leaders’ strictly enforced demand that Arab-owned businesses close at noon for a daily protest strike.
At first, the Arab owners of the stand tried to be clever and ignore the orders. But after seeing one too many other Arab businesses become the victim of mysteriously set fires, they closed the stand down.
This week it was open again, at 6 in the evening — an open challenge to a Palestinian nationalist with a can of gasoline and a book of matches.
Was the intifada over, or were the rules changing?
The vendor looked slightly embarrassed when a longtime customer asked the question, as if he had failed his customers by obeying the orders of the uprising leadership.
The customer would not let it drop. “Have you received permission to reopen?” he asked pointedly.
The man continued smiling. “Well, sort of,” he answered, obviously not anxious to go into details.
The reopening of the falafel stand is symbolic of other changes taking place in the 20-month-old Palestinian uprising. The intifada may not yet have died out, but its leaders’ hold on the rank and file is showing definite signs of weakening.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS HAVING IMPACT
Besides the falafel stand, shops, especially in remote villages, are beginning to stay open after noon, in defiance of the partial commercial strike in the territories and East Jerusalem.
Schools have been reopened by the Israeli authorities, with little interference from Palestinian nationalists.
More and more Arab workers circumvent the frequent general strike days by simply staying overnight at their work places.
Many plants, such as a large Jerusalem bakery, have rented apartments for their workers, so that they do not have to return home daily.
Two factors seemed to have brought about this change: the sharp drop in the standard of living caused by the frequent strikes, and the fact that more and more Jewish employers are seeking to replace their Arab workers with Jews, even if they have to pay more.
Several prominent Palestinians, most of whom refuse to identify themselves, have confirmed recently that the intifada is changing colors.
Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist who did speak openly to reporters Sunday, said that the intifada has reached a state in which people are more interested in political developments than in violence.
They watch with interest developments like the current convention of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Al Fatah faction in Tunis, and the growing number of meetings Palestinians are having with American and Israelis.
Kuttab explained that the reopening of the schools in the West Bank went smoothly, because “there was a decision not to give the Israelis any pretext to close the schools” again.
LEAFLETS POSTED IN RAMALLAH
With the Fatah delegates reportedly debating whether to endorse a political course charted by PLO leader Yasir Arafat, hope has replaced despair in the territories.
Still, leaders of the uprising are concerned that the intifada is losing momentum and that its rules are no longer strictly obeyed.
Merchants in Ramallah convened Sunday to discuss ways and means to bolster “national discipline.”
Among the resolutions of the meeting were a call for tougher measures against vendors who do not obey the rules of the general strikes, greater cooperation with a ban on paying Israeli taxes and an effort to encourage local manufacturers to bring down their prices for the benefit of the local population.
Leaflets distributed during the weekend in Ramallah stressed the importance of observing the general strike rules and the need to boycott Israeli goods.
The call was seen as an indication that things were no longer running according to the orders of the uprising leadership.
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