Today, Sunday, the Israeli authorities continued their siege of the city of Jericho in the West Bank for the ninth day in a row, according to local officials and Palestinian citizens who complained of incurring economic losses as a result of this step.

The deputy mayor of Jericho, Fathi Brahma, told Xinhua that the Israeli authorities are tightening their procedures around Jericho and erecting military checkpoints at its entrances for the ninth day, which has affected the economic and social lives of Palestinians.

Brahma added that the mood of the Israeli authorities is what is being dealt with with the lives of the residents. There is an incomprehensible stress on people leaving the city, while facilitating movement for those entering the city without any justification.

He pointed out that heavy economic losses were inflicted on the city and its economy as a result of this blockade, as thousands refrained from visiting the city, which is the first tourist destination for Palestinians in the West Bank and Palestinians from East Jerusalem and inside Israel.

Brahma reported that the prices of many agricultural products fell due to the blockade and that farmers were unable to export their crops to other cities in the West Bank, while severe damage was inflicted on the tourism sector, which is the backbone of the city's economy, and the activity and purchasing movement that follows it is almost suspended.

No official Israeli comment was issued regarding the siege of the city, but the Hebrew public radio reported that the steps imposed on Jericho, which is a destination for tourism and visitors, came due to the escalation of operations in a way that had not happened in years.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce in Ariha, Tayseer Hamidi, condemned the continuation of the policy of blockade imposed on the city, considering it a "collective punishment" aimed at hitting the city's economy.

Hamidi told Xinhua that the initial losses of the economic sectors as a result of the ongoing Israeli siege on Jericho for the ninth day in a row were estimated at tens of millions of dollars.

Hamidi explained that the affected sectors are represented by the tourism sector, buying goods from shops or renting hotels, as well as tourist villas and swimming pools that the city is famous for, as well as transportation and communications.

Hamidi warned of the reluctance of investors to invest in Jericho, especially from areas of Jerusalem, in light of the disruption of construction projects in which the city witnessed a great renaissance during the past years.

The siege around Jericho began last Saturday on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, when the city was preparing to receive more than half a million people during the holidays from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Palestinians in Israel due to the abundance of tourist facilities and parks in it.

Palestinian activists circulated on the social networking site ((Facebook)) pictures showing the Israeli forces stopping vehicles and subjecting them to searches and verifying the identities of their passengers at the checkpoints.

In this regard, Rami Mahdawi from Ramallah wrote on his Facebook page about the difficult moments he experienced for nearly seven hours at an Israeli checkpoint while returning to his home from Jericho on the third day of Eid al-Fitr.

Mahdawi said, "After spending quality time with the family in one of Jericho's parks, a journey of torment and hardship began, after military checkpoints were erected at all entrances to Jericho and impeded the movement of citizens."

He added, "A journey of suffering represented by spending all the time inside your vehicle with two girls who have many needs, without being able to answer their many repeated questions and comments (why are they standing) and (we want to drink and eat)".

Mahdawi believed that the issue of "detaining thousands of citizens for a long time is one of the attempts made by the occupation in order to disbelieve the Palestinian in his cause and its justice, and to hit the internal tourism and its economic impact and to bring the Palestinian family down and try to show it as weak and unable to protect itself."

Jericho, which is inhabited by more than 30,000 people, including 6,000 Palestinian refugees, is an ancient Palestinian area located near the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea, and is known as the City of the Moon.

The number of permanent and temporary Israeli barriers dividing the West Bank, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, is estimated at 593 military checkpoints and gates, while the Israeli army says that the deployment of military checkpoints comes for security considerations.

According to a 2021 study issued by the Applied Research Institute (ARIJ), a non-governmental organization headquartered in the city of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, Palestinians lose about 60 million working hours annually due to checkpoints, with losses estimated at about $270 million annually.