Housewife Reem Khalil had to circumvent three Israeli military checkpoints to shop for food for the meal Muslims eat at sunset during the fasting month of Ramadan that began in Palestinian territories yesterday.

?I thought that the Israelis would ease travel restrictions as a good gesture for Ramadan but they did not?, Khalil said as she trudged along a dirt road near the West Bank city of Ramallah carrying bags filled with fresh produce and sweets. Khalil, who lives in the village of Sinjel just north of Ramallah, melted into a sea of Palestinians, some struggling with toddlers and infants, who took back roads into the city on the holiday.

Israel has blockaded main roads around Ramallah as part of what it calls security measures to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching its cities in a three-year-old uprising for statehood. Palestinians call the restrictions collective punishment that has hit their economy and made travel difficult, if not impossible, for many of the 3.6 million residents of 640 communities cut off by trenches, barricades and checkpoints. Shopkeepers in Ramallah, the West Bank?s commercial capital, complained they had few customers yesterday.

?From where will people come? They cannot parachute from the sky,? said Nayef Hassan, a shop owner who displayed Ramadan sweets to attract shoppers. ?You see people but they do not have enough money to shop. Look at their hands, many are not carrying bags with them?, he said.

Ramadan is the Muslim month of abstinence from food, drink and sex during daylight and is marked by festivities at night, with lanterns, balloons, firecrackers, feasts and visits. Gaza also marked Ramadan in a sombre mood after Israeli air strikes last week that killed 13 Palestinians, including militants and civilians. Decorative lights strung up for the holiday were not turned on, in a mark of sympathy with relatives of the dead.

Mohammed Assad