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| Fox retail location |
An Israeli clothing retailer announced today that it will be opening its first ever branch location in the Palestinian controlled West Bank.
The Israeli Fashion brand, Fox, is opening its first franchise in a mall in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, a move that is already facing strong opposition from Palestinian activists.
Recently, a poster was hung in one of the shopping centers in the Palestinian city, announcing that the clothing retailer will soon open a branch there. While many Palestinians have expressed their support for the store, the decision has unleashed a storm on social networking websites among Palestinian activists, who vehemently oppose any normalization of relations with Israel or Israeli companies.
One of the activists, who were protesting the measure, expressed dissatisfaction with the economic cooperation with Israel. Another attacked the Palestinian Authority led by the Fatah Party, saying that "Fatah still underestimated the suffering of the residents of the West Bank. Fatah does everything to win the confidence of Israel and seeks to cooperate with it, despite the fact that they are the enemy of the Palestinian people."
Fox Group operates a total of 135 stores in Israel and 245 stores overseas. Among other places, the company operates throughout Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Ramallah is home to the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority and has become a thriving metropolitan area in recent years.
Fox, is partly owned by Abraham Fox, a religious Jew. Retail shops are closed on the Jewish Sabbath, unlike many other major chains that keep some stores open on Shabbat.