Reposted from the Middle East Monitor

In the early years of the Second Intifada, Nablus was under violent military closure with checkpoints surrounding the city largely impassable and long-term curfews regularly imposed. This was the period in which Israel launched ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ on 29th March 2002 when occupation tanks rolled into Ramallah placing President Yasser Arafat’s compound under siege. Other ‘West Bank’ cities were taken over in the following days, and by April 3rd the tanks and huge numbers of soldiers moved into Nablus and the neighbouring city of Jenin. ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ was the largest military operation in the ‘West Bank’ since 1967. On May 3rd 2002, the occupation forces officially pulled back from the city centres as the operation was closed down but in practice daily, or often nightly, attacks against Palestinian cities continued for a long time.

Rich-wiles-soap-making-in-NabulsiToday, Nablus once more teems with life and activity although sporadic night-time IOF raids still continue. Bullet holes and other military destruction are still widely evident although some reconstruction work has been done. Amongst the destruction in the Old City were many historic buildings, some of which dated back several hundred years, and with this demolition parts of Palestinian history, heritage and also economy crumbled. Central to this issue, and unlikely to ever fully recover, was the destruction of Nablus’ historic olive oil soap industry which helped to build the city.

Nablus’ earliest soap factories date back to the 10th century, and by the 14th century olive oil soap had become a significant factor in the local economy. ‘Nabulsi’ soap was later widely traded and exported across the Arab world and also to Europe. The 1927 earthquake that hit the city damaged several soap factories which were all based in and around the historic Old City, but it was the widespread Israeli bombardment of the Old City, and the occupation-imposed closures, during the Second Intifada that virtually brought the industry to its knees. According to staff at the Tuqan factory, which is one of only three factories still producing soap according to traditional methods, ‘Before the Second Intifada there were 35 factories in and around the Old City. Today there are just three.’

The current Tuqan factory alongside the Old City was built in the 19th century and was one of two owned by the family. Their second factory inside the Old City was one of those closed during the Intifada. Israeli trade restrictions on both import and export have also heavily affected the industry.

‘Abu Rami’ has worked in the Tuqan factory since he was 14 years old following in his family traditions: ‘We used to export to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, all the Arab countries. Now we only export to Jordan, and sometimes they export from there but not like before. My father worked here and my brothers, but not my son as the work is bad now. We have done this all our lives and for us there’s no alternative, it’s all we know.’

The Tuqan factory is today working at around 60% of its pre-Intifada production levels yet it continues to work following its traditional production methods. The industry itself is unlikely ever to recover with occupation restrictions still in place, many original factories no longer intact and within a globalised world in which traditional hand-made products are over-run by cheaper mass-produced and inferior alternatives. But for those still working in this proud industry, they continue to struggle to work, to provide for their families and to hold on to one element of Palestine’s rich heritage.

MEMO Photographer: Rich Wiles