The itinerant vendors around Bab al-Amud are part of a very particular Palestinian experience of urban Jerusalem. These women have been the target of a vicious campaign by the municipality for years. With the Olmert administration, harassment of the vendors and confiscation of their produce became stated municipal policy. Confrontations between street peddlers and municipal administrations mar late twentieth century urban history in most places. Although it may be argued that the roofs covering the new peddlers market will ease working conditions in the rain, and that the mere existence of the markets on some level represents the municipality's failure to get rid of itinerant vendors altogether, the fact remains that within the very specific context of the city of Jerusalem these urban conflicts take on a different level of complexity.
Beautification here equals the formal and symbolic attack on a people s experience of their city.
Thanks to Rema Hammami and Amal Nashashibi for sharing their knowledge of al-Quds and their observations on changes in the city with me. Ibid ., p. 184.