But there aren't many local products and even when there are, they are not top quality. Dirar Tayem, the co-owner of Balqis cosmetics store, says there are other reasons for the boycott's failure. He says that the ban of the first Intifada was a partial success because people knew and needed less. Today, the average person on the street has different demands, they want different things. He attributes this to the technology information boom over the past decade.
People see advertisements for clothes, food and cars on satellite and over the Internet.
Fifteen years ago, we didn't have these things. Tayem says merchants want to boycott Israeli products and would be willing to do so - if only there was a viable alternative. But he does not blame Palestinian industry for this shortcoming. Even if we did directly boycott Israeli products, the fact remains that all the raw materials come from Israel. And even if we just brought in imported goods, all the borders and crossings are still controlled by Israel.