28.12.2011 02.Tewet. 5772 Channuka 8
Jerusalem:
'First it was NIS 30, then NIS 70, then NIS 150 … and now it stands at NIS 475,' a peddler selling bread near Jaffa Gate for the past 25 years tells Haaretz.
For 25 years, Ihsan Knaan, a resident of Silwan, has been selling the elongated bread known as baygele, accompanied by falafel and a pinch of the herb za'atar inside a twist of newspaper from a cart at Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. He says he has tried to obtain a license from the municipality since he began, and never managed to do so.
His business depends on the delicate balance between sales and the fines he pays regularly to the city. He remembers their evolution perfectly. "First it was NIS 30, then NIS 70, then NIS 150 … and now it stands at NIS 475," he told Haaretz this week….