sampicksolives (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sampicksolives) wrote,@ 2004-10-16 13:06:00 |
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Qalqilya - town of peace?
Qalqilya is a large market town of 45,000 people on the western edge of the West Bank, and it serves as a center for another 50,000 in surrounding villages. WE visited it last week because it is completely surrounded by what the Israeli authorities tem the “security fence”. Actually – in many places this fence is an 8m high concrete wall which very effectively separates the Israelis and the Palestinians from even seeing each other, let alone talking or trading or socializing or any of the other things we in the West have the freedom to do.
It’s 12 miles to Tel Aviv from Qalqilya. But just 1km away is the first of the illegal Israeli settlements. The history of this town is one of co-operation with its Israeli neighbours – many people here speak Hebrew and the mayor tells us there existed a real trust between the two peoples. Families kept up good relationships with each other and the town was a thriving industrial center – textiles, painting, paper making, farming – where both Palestinians and Israelis worked together. There was also co-operation on environmental projects – solid waster treatment for example, and Palestinian and Israeli children would go on trips to Europe together.
Even national commemorative occasion were celebrated together – the anniversaries of the assassination of Rabin for example, and the Israelis would walk into town to do their shopping and sit in cafes.
Even after the first intifada this co-operation continued – but after the second intifada in 2001 all of this changed. A Palestinian terrorist from Jordan entered Israel as a tourist. Although his family had once lived in Qalqilya, he slept in Tel Aviv. After a month of being in Israel he carried out a suicide bombing. Despite the fact that Qalqilya had not hosted this man in any way, the Israeli army carried out collective punishment on the entire town. One night they entered and bulldozed an entire area at the entrance to the town – 55 shops and cafes were flattened and everything inside destroyed. There was no evacuation notice given. Seven electricity transformers were destroyed as well as the municipal buildings.
The residents of Qalqilya district this year have been given three days to harvest their olives. It usually takes a month. After the three days the olives will be free for the illegal settlers to collect. The wall, whose construction began in 2002, is 38km long in the district and between 60-104m wide. It does not follow the Green Line border between Israel and Palestine but cuts 25km deep into West Bank territory, and only 30% of the farmers are given permission to go through the three gates to their lands – even then they may not be allowed through on the days allotted for harvesting, and without their families to help they can do very little to bring in the harvest. According to Israeli law if land is not tended for three years the Israeli government has the right to develop it. The Israeli settlers are taking photos of the land cut off by the wall every 6 months. The 3 gates in the wall are opened for 10-15 minutes three times a day and other than that there is no way to cross. Women give birth at the gates if the ambulances cannot get through and so far 5 people have died due to the delay in opening the gates.
There are 23 illegal Israeli settlements here containing 53,000 people - 26% of the settlers in the West Bank. 19 wells pump 2.5 million cubic metres of water to the settlements and to Israeli land while 19 of the Palestinians’ artesian wells have been isolated by the wall – these wells have provided water for farming and domestic use to thousands of people. 105,000 olive trees have been bulldozed although some have been carefully preserved to replant in the illegal settlements.
There is now 65% unemployment in the town and 64% live below the poverty line. Poverty and desperation will push the Palestinians here into the arms of the right-wing parties – a situation feared by many of the town’s inhabitants themselves. Israelis are forbidden to enter the town now, and we were told by soldiers that it is dangerous. We saw no sign of danger other than the gun-toting soldiers themselves.
If the “separation fence” is for security reasons why are the Israelis stealing land and water from the Palestinians?
If the “separation fence” is for security reasons then why are the two peoples prevented from ever meeting each other although they have lived peacefully alongside each other here for many years? The organization “Mayors for Peace” consisting of 20 mayors from Palestinian and Israeli towns cannot meet in Palestine or Israel but have to fly to the Hague due to Israeli “security” restrictions. Thus a 3 hour meeting takes 4 days.
Qalqilya is a large market town of 45,000 people on the western edge of the West Bank, and it serves as a center for another 50,000 in surrounding villages. WE visited it last week because it is completely surrounded by what the Israeli authorities tem the “security fence”. Actually – in many places this fence is an 8m high concrete wall which very effectively separates the Israelis and the Palestinians from even seeing each other, let alone talking or trading or socializing or any of the other things we in the West have the freedom to do.
It’s 12 miles to Tel Aviv from Qalqilya. But just 1km away is the first of the illegal Israeli settlements. The history of this town is one of co-operation with its Israeli neighbours – many people here speak Hebrew and the mayor tells us there existed a real trust between the two peoples. Families kept up good relationships with each other and the town was a thriving industrial center – textiles, painting, paper making, farming – where both Palestinians and Israelis worked together. There was also co-operation on environmental projects – solid waster treatment for example, and Palestinian and Israeli children would go on trips to Europe together.
Even national commemorative occasion were celebrated together – the anniversaries of the assassination of Rabin for example, and the Israelis would walk into town to do their shopping and sit in cafes.
Even after the first intifada this co-operation continued – but after the second intifada in 2001 all of this changed. A Palestinian terrorist from Jordan entered Israel as a tourist. Although his family had once lived in Qalqilya, he slept in Tel Aviv. After a month of being in Israel he carried out a suicide bombing. Despite the fact that Qalqilya had not hosted this man in any way, the Israeli army carried out collective punishment on the entire town. One night they entered and bulldozed an entire area at the entrance to the town – 55 shops and cafes were flattened and everything inside destroyed. There was no evacuation notice given. Seven electricity transformers were destroyed as well as the municipal buildings.
The residents of Qalqilya district this year have been given three days to harvest their olives. It usually takes a month. After the three days the olives will be free for the illegal settlers to collect. The wall, whose construction began in 2002, is 38km long in the district and between 60-104m wide. It does not follow the Green Line border between Israel and Palestine but cuts 25km deep into West Bank territory, and only 30% of the farmers are given permission to go through the three gates to their lands – even then they may not be allowed through on the days allotted for harvesting, and without their families to help they can do very little to bring in the harvest. According to Israeli law if land is not tended for three years the Israeli government has the right to develop it. The Israeli settlers are taking photos of the land cut off by the wall every 6 months. The 3 gates in the wall are opened for 10-15 minutes three times a day and other than that there is no way to cross. Women give birth at the gates if the ambulances cannot get through and so far 5 people have died due to the delay in opening the gates.
There are 23 illegal Israeli settlements here containing 53,000 people - 26% of the settlers in the West Bank. 19 wells pump 2.5 million cubic metres of water to the settlements and to Israeli land while 19 of the Palestinians’ artesian wells have been isolated by the wall – these wells have provided water for farming and domestic use to thousands of people. 105,000 olive trees have been bulldozed although some have been carefully preserved to replant in the illegal settlements.
There is now 65% unemployment in the town and 64% live below the poverty line. Poverty and desperation will push the Palestinians here into the arms of the right-wing parties – a situation feared by many of the town’s inhabitants themselves. Israelis are forbidden to enter the town now, and we were told by soldiers that it is dangerous. We saw no sign of danger other than the gun-toting soldiers themselves.
If the “separation fence” is for security reasons why are the Israelis stealing land and water from the Palestinians?
If the “separation fence” is for security reasons then why are the two peoples prevented from ever meeting each other although they have lived peacefully alongside each other here for many years? The organization “Mayors for Peace” consisting of 20 mayors from Palestinian and Israeli towns cannot meet in Palestine or Israel but have to fly to the Hague due to Israeli “security” restrictions. Thus a 3 hour meeting takes 4 days.
