ZABOUBA, WEST BANK // Mohanned Mohammed, 16, is in the driver’s seat of a rusty red tractor, holding a cigarette in one hand and the steering wheel with the other. He puffs on the cigarette and smiles as he steers between rows of what the locals in this Palestinian town call “settlements” of tobacco.
Mohannad left school this year and in July was hired by the Atatreh family for 2,000 shekels (Dh1,875) a month to work in the tobacco fields. He gets up at 4.30am each day and works until the sun rises then returns to the fields later in the evenings. He smokes like a chimney.
After the second intifada in 2000 and the construction of the separation wall with Israel, jobs became scarce as many Palestinians could not work inside Israel. Tobacco became the new cash crop in the Jenin basin as farmers replanted their land with tobacco, which is largely unregulated and farmers have been able to avoid paying tax.
In 2012, just 295.4 hectares of land were used to grow tobacco; now it is estimated to be about 2,023.4 out of 3,734 hectares, according to the local governorate.
While tobacco is cheaper, easier to grow and requires less water than most other crops, the move towards tobacco farming has drastically reduced the production of food crops in what was once the breadbasket of the West Bank.
Palestinians are now importing more produce to sell at the local markets and prices have risen. The rise of tobacco cultivation has also caused serious damage to the agricultural ecosystem, and led to an increase in the production of illegal cigarettes.
In Zabouba, which sits in the northernmost tip of the West Bank, surrounded on two sides by the Israeli separation barrier, nearly 60 per cent of the town’s 3,000 residents work in unregulated tobacco-cultivation. Previously, farmers sold to tobacco processing companies legally, but they found they could make more producing their own cigarettes.
In 2010, only 0.5 hectares of land surrounding the town was planted with tobacco. Today, it’s 40 hectares. The area still has some almond trees, sesame plants and olive trees but the majority have been replaced by tobacco while watermelon and wheat production has stopped completely.
The Atatreh family has fields of tobacco outside the town, but they live in the centre of Zabouba. They are hard at work during a heatwave, turning their tobacco harvest into dried leaves ready for smoking.
Golden brown piles of dried tobacco litter the ground and every entrance way to the family home. Leaves hang on washing lines to dry alongside laundry. Everyone has some form of tobacco in their hands, whether its an undried leaf, dried leaves being rolled for homemade cigarettes or a manufactured cigarette being smoked.
The family refused to tell The National how many hectares of tobacco crop they own as they did not want the authorities to be alerted and to possibly face taxes. Having always owned land, the Atatrehs have grown tobacco in small amounts since the 1980s. Now, it is all they grow.
In the middle of the chaos, Hussein Atatreh, 82, sits in the shade on a white plastic chair outside the house. He squints with one eye as he rolls his own filterless cigarette.
In seemingly good health, the family patriarch and grandfather of over 60 children declares that he only smokes 25 cigarettes a day, which, he says, is modest by local standards. Many people smoke more than 30 cigarettes a day.
“In 2000, when Israel constructed the separation wall, many people in Jenin became jobless and they started seeking ways to generate income. They returned to the fields,” Mr Atatreh says. There was a gradual switch to tobacco and more and more people flocked to the fields as the economic situation worsened. Even children.
“Tobacco doesn’t need a lot of care — if you leave it, it grows,” Mr Atatreh adds. “It is our main source of jobs and opportunities.”
The whole family, more than 30 of them, was hard at work when The National visited. Up to 50 are often involved in the process: while the women sort the tobacco leaves and hang them out to dry, the men cut the dried tobacco, either to sell to cigarette companies or to make into homemade cigarettes. The latter — which are known as "Al Arabi" cigarettes — are sold to local Palestinians in plastic ziplock bags of 20 for four shekels (Dh3.80).
The tobacco is sold to cigarette companies for 23 shekels a kilogram. They make more income rolling and selling their own cigarettes than selling the tobacco to middle men who sell it to cigarette companies.
Even young children help out. Three of them, all under six, were enthusiastically pushing leaves onto metal spikes, preparing them for hanging out to dry. The business supports every generation of the family, helping many of the older grandchildren to pay their university fees with money they earn while working over the summer break.
While the West Bank’s illegal tobacco industry has helped Palestinians fend off high unemployment and poverty, these benefits have come at the expense of vegetable and fruit production — as well as the environment. With farmers no longer employing crop rotation methods, the soil in the Jenin basin is now severely depleted.
Mamoun Daraghmeh, head of the agriculture faculty at the Arab American University of Jenin, said that tobacco crops were essentially killing the soil because farmers are no longer using crop rotation methods.
“The soil is the biggest loser in tobacco cultivation,” he said. “Latest research showed phosphorous levels in the soil were four times higher than they should be with tobacco cultivated land” as the land quality has been depleted by the growing of tobacco plants and fertiliser use.
“This is a very serious problem and we should stop and do a proper study of the economic factors here and try to reduce the size of this disaster on both the Palestinian agricultural and economic systems,” he added. Mr Daraghmeh suggested the Palestinian Authority should consider ways to support local businesses so they can have sustainable incomes.
So far, the West Bank’s illegal tobacco industry has escaped government regulation but the PA have started to take notice.
The ministry of agriculture has called for a political strategy to reintroduce the growing of other equally profitable but more high maintenance and costly crops, and to promote and market them. In particular, the ministry wants to prevent highly fertile land being used for tobacco farming.
In addition to this, the ministry has voiced the need to regulate the tobacco industry, in particular the production of Al Arabi cigarettes. The PA considers these cigarettes to be illegal because they evade taxes.
A 2014 study by Alpha International for Research, Polling and Informatics found that nearly 40 per cent of cigarettes in the West Bank had been sold illegally in the past five years. They also found that of those illegally sold, none of them met sanitation standards or were labelled with health warnings.
And, with an estimated 45 million packs of illegal cigarettes sold annually, according to the study, the PA treasury was losing up to US$150 million (Dh550 million) in evaded tax each year.
Moves by the PA to curb the production of Al Arabi cigarettes are likely to prove unpopular, however.
Smoking is on the rise in both the West Bank and Gaza, with Palestinians in the two territories spending more than $500 million a year on cigarettes.
But with unemployment high and wages low, the price of imported packs of cigarettes is too much for some. While imported cigarettes range from $5.50 —$7 per pack, 20 Al Arabi cigarettes sell for as little as $1.50.
Hussein Atatreh says the imported cigarettes are too expensive for the whole family to smoke.
“Each person would be spending more than 700 shekels a month,” he said. “The [cigarettes made from tobacco] grown around Jenin are cheap and the demand has increased.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Kanye%20West
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sweet%20Tooth
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Company%20Profile
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India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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RESULTS
2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m
Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer)
3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m
Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard
4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 T) 1,000m
Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Company%20profile
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HWJN
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
Mountain%20Boy
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The%20Afghan%20connection
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Sour%20Grapes
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Under 19 World Cup
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Other key dates
-
Finals draw: December 2
-
Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
-
Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
-
Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
MANDOOB
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Ali%20Kalthami%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Mohammed%20Dokhei%2C%20Sarah%20Taibah%2C%20Hajar%20Alshammari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
