Qalqilyah
Encyclopedia
Qalqilyah is a Palestinian
city in the West Bank
. Qalqilyah serves as the administrative centre for the Qalqilya Governorate
. In the official 2007 census it had a population of 41,739.
, with "dozens of checkpoints policing the town and nearby villages."
tools. In Roman
times, a way-station existed in the area, called Cala-c'Aliya. Invading armies, many of which came from the Mediterranean coast, passed through Qalqilyah. Residents established an independent local council in 1909, and by 1945, a municipal council. In World War I
, a few Jewish families settled in the town after being evicted from Tel Aviv
by the ruling Ottoman
administration.
s took refuge in Qalqilya during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
prior to and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. Known as the people of Kafr Saba
and Arab Abu Kishek, the refugees received assistance from UNRWA. In the 1949 Armistice Agreements
between Israel
and Jordan
, the town was included in the Jordanian-occupied area, together with the rest of the West Bank. In an attack on the police fort at Qalqilya in October 1956, eighteen Israeli soldiers were killed and over fifty wounded; between seventy and ninety Jordanians were also killed.
wrote in his memoirs that the destruction of Qalilya was not a result of battles but rather was a "punishment" that was meant to "chase away the inhabitants". Eventually, the population was allowed to return and the cost of reconstructing the damaged houses was financed by the military authorities.
, the town came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Qalqilyah was the site of an early incident in the Al-Aqsa Intifada
, on September 29, 2000, when a Palestinian police officer working with Israeli police on a joint patrol opened fire, killing his Israeli counterpart. In 2003, the Israeli West Bank barrier
was built, encircling the town and separating it from agricultural lands on the other side of the wall, infuriating the local populace. The mayor of town of Qalqilyah is a member of Hamas
. The Qalqilya Governorate
was one of three governorates where Hamas beat Fatah
in the Palestinian election of 2006.
In March 2008, Israeli soldiers arrested Omar Jabar, the Hamas
bomber who masterminded the 2002 Netanya suicide attack in which 30 Israelis were killed and 143 wounded during a Passover dinner celebration.
.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
city in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Qalqilyah serves as the administrative centre for the Qalqilya Governorate
Qalqilya Governorate
The Qalqilya Governorate is an administrative area of the Palestinian National Authority in the northwestern West Bank. Its capital or muhfaza is the city of Qalqilya that borders the Green Line.-Towns and villages:* Azzun 'Atma* Baqah...
. In the official 2007 census it had a population of 41,739.
Geography
Qalqilyah is almost completely surrounded by the Israeli West Bank barrierIsraeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
, with "dozens of checkpoints policing the town and nearby villages."
History
The region has been populated since prehistoric times, as attested to by the discovery of prehistoric flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
tools. In Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, a way-station existed in the area, called Cala-c'Aliya. Invading armies, many of which came from the Mediterranean coast, passed through Qalqilyah. Residents established an independent local council in 1909, and by 1945, a municipal council. In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, a few Jewish families settled in the town after being evicted from Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
by the ruling Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
administration.
1948-1967
Thousands of Palestinian refugeePalestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
s took refuge in Qalqilya during the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
prior to and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. Known as the people of Kafr Saba
Kafr Saba
Kafr Saba was a Palestinian-Arab village famous for its shrine dating to the Mamluk period and for a history stretching back for more than a millennium...
and Arab Abu Kishek, the refugees received assistance from UNRWA. In the 1949 Armistice Agreements
1949 Armistice Agreements
The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...
between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, the town was included in the Jordanian-occupied area, together with the rest of the West Bank. In an attack on the police fort at Qalqilya in October 1956, eighteen Israeli soldiers were killed and over fifty wounded; between seventy and ninety Jordanians were also killed.
1967-1993
After the conquest of Qalqilya in the Six Day War, the residents were driven out and buildings systematically demolished. Moshe DayanMoshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
wrote in his memoirs that the destruction of Qalilya was not a result of battles but rather was a "punishment" that was meant to "chase away the inhabitants". Eventually, the population was allowed to return and the cost of reconstructing the damaged houses was financed by the military authorities.
Post-Oslo
Following the Oslo AccordsOslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
, the town came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Qalqilyah was the site of an early incident in the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
, on September 29, 2000, when a Palestinian police officer working with Israeli police on a joint patrol opened fire, killing his Israeli counterpart. In 2003, the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
was built, encircling the town and separating it from agricultural lands on the other side of the wall, infuriating the local populace. The mayor of town of Qalqilyah is a member of Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. The Qalqilya Governorate
Qalqilya Governorate
The Qalqilya Governorate is an administrative area of the Palestinian National Authority in the northwestern West Bank. Its capital or muhfaza is the city of Qalqilya that borders the Green Line.-Towns and villages:* Azzun 'Atma* Baqah...
was one of three governorates where Hamas beat Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
in the Palestinian election of 2006.
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
bomber who masterminded the 2002 Netanya suicide attack in which 30 Israelis were killed and 143 wounded during a Passover dinner celebration.
Economy
Between 1967-1995 almost 80 percent of Qalqilya's labor force worked for Israeli companies or industries in the construction and agriculture sectors. The other 20% engaged in trade and commerce, and many if not most of their traditional markets are across the green line. Most of the residents are farmers. Qalqilya is the location of the biggest Palestinian zooQalqilya Zoo
Qalqilya Zoo is a small zoo in the Palestinian farming city of Qalqilya on the western edge of the West Bank. Established in 1986, it is the only municipal zoo in the West Bank....
.
People from Qalqilyah
- Abu Ali IyadAbu Ali IyadWalid Ahmad Nimer Al-Naser better known by his nom de guerre Abu Ali Iyad was a senior Palestinian field commander based in Syria and Jordan during the 1960s and early 1970s....
- Late FatahFatahFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
field commander in JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. - Walid HusayinWalid HusayinWalid Husayin is a Palestinian blogger. In October 2010, the Palestinian Authority arrested him for allegedly blaspheming against Islam on Facebook and in blog posts...