01.02.2012                      08.Schwat. 5772

Feature:

Arab town, both Israeli and Palestinian, divided by shopping

Bartaa, straddling the Green Line, has brought together Palestinians and Israelis in a de facto economic free zone, but with some unable to cash in, the village is still split.

The Arab village of Bartaa, on the outskirts of Wadi Ara, lies halfway inside Israel proper and halfway over the Green Line. But the town is really remarkable for the economic boom it has undergone recently. And opinion over its transformation into a shopping mecca is, like most things in this town, divided.
Some see it as an inspiring story of coexistence, but to others, the market is a sign of how one side of the town is prospering while the other is falling behind….