This Hebron grocer won’t let Israeli shutdowns stop him
Al Jazeera
Ishaq Qafisheh has worked in the falafel shop-turned-grocer for as long as he can remember, and plans to continue.
Hebron, occupied West Bank – Ishaq Qafisheh steers his wheelchair around the Ibrahimi Mosque, resting his trusty crutch on his shoulder as he rolls along. That crutch has been a lifelong companion since he was struck with polio as a small child.
The 60-year-old is going to open his tiny grocery shop for the day, one of a few that remained open in the courtyard after the Israeli military closed most of them following the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994.
It is more like a prison canteen than a grocery shop, Qafisheh says as he settles into his seat in the 12sq-metre space (129sq feet), but it provides some essential basics for people who live nearby, trapped by Israeli checkpoints hemming them in tightly.
“The Palestinians who buy my groceries are prisoners, just like those in any prison. My only customers are the people who live inside the checkpoints,” Qafisheh says.
Qafisheh has worked in this shop for as long as he can remember.
