JERUSALEM, January 16, 2011 (WAFA) - Israeli municipality personnel gathered in large numbers in Jerusalem Sunday, spreading panic among Palestinian merchants.

The merchants expressed fear of widespread raids on their stores and the imposition of large fines. 

One of them said that he and others prefer not to open their stores this month because inspectors are most active to collect property tax, according to our correspondent in Jerusalem. 

 The merchant said that these raids are usually brutal and “inspectors treat Palestinian merchants like gangsters.” 

 Inspectors from the Israeli municipality spread near Damascus Gate (Bab Al A'mood) and inside the old city, according to a witness on the scene. 

He added that these inspectors and others from the Israeli tax authority adopt an expulsion policy toward merchants of Jerusalem by imposing many taxes during a time of economic and commercial recession.

 This is done in the context of targeting the holy city and imposing a Jewish character upon it. 

 M.H.