A report released by the World Bank … Oct. 8, states that the development of Area C, which includes the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area and which, under the Oslo Accords, belongs to Israel, is a necessary condition to the recovery of the Palestinian economy. However, the only Palestinian [economic] presence in the region is that of the small salt plant of Uthman Halak, which is located near an abandoned Jordanian hotel, and which has been operating for nearly 50 years now on the northern shore of the Dead Sea.
The plant seems to be something out of place in the region, which is populated by Israeli settlements, and strewn with date groves — the region where the archaeological site of the Qumran Caves is located [famous for the Dead Sea Scrolls found there], as well as the Ein-Fasha resort, and the AHAVA cosmetics factory. Amid all these, Halak, even now, at the age of 78, keeps on producing his salt and selling it in 25-kilogram (55-pound) bags to the West Bank and Gaza.
The royalties are transferred to the Israeli administrator general
n recent months, the Palestinians have been exerting growing pressure on the international community with regard to Area C. Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Abu Mazen and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah request permission to build in the area and develop it, and present to the world a series of grandiose development projects — including a Palestinian resort city on the Dead Sea shore and a plan for the establishment of chemical plants. The Israeli government, for its part, refrains from referring to the issue.
The Palestinian salt plant thus peculiarly stands out in the region. Halak, a chemical engineer by profession, was granted the franchise to produce salt from the Jordanian government in 1964. Since 1967, he has been transferring the royalties to the Israeli administrator general, who inherited the Jordanian government assets in the West Bank.
Halak has managed to overcome economic, security and political obstacles. However, his salt plant remained small and outdated. The crude salt filtered out of nearby ponds is rinsed in the plant, and then put into a centrifuge that separates it from the water. After that, it is put in the oven to dry. The next stage in the process is the sorting of the salt. Powder-like salt is graded as size zero and is usually marketed for roasting sunflower seeds and peanuts; salt graded from 0.2 to 1.2 is used as regular table salt; salt graded from 1.2 to 3 is sold as coarse salt; and salt graded from 2 to 3 is classified as gourmet salt, a niche which has become most popular in recent years, both in Israel and worldwide.
Winds of change in the family business
These days, the Israeli entrepreneur Alon Lior is promoting Halak’s gourmet salt, marketed under the brand name Salt 424. Lior offers different flavors: smoked salt, black pepper salt, [coarse] salt with red seaweed and more.
At the same time, Hossam Halak, Uthman’s son, is currently building a [packaging] plant near Jericho, with the aim of marketing the salt in small packages. So far, the old Palestinian plant has marketed the salt in big bags of 25 kilograms. And while the Palestinians’ plans for the development of Area C seem to be a distant dream, at least in the Palestinian salt plant, the winds of change are felt.