Qalqilya

Coordinates: 32°11′25″N 34°58′07″E / 32.19028°N 34.96861°E / 32.19028; 34.96861
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Qalqilya
قلقيلية
View of Qalqilya, with the West Bank barrier
View of Qalqilya, with the West Bank barrier
City
 • Head of MunicipalityOthman Dawoud
Area
 • Jurisdiction25,637 dunams (25.6 km2 or 9.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Jurisdiction51,683
Websitehttps://qalqiliamun.ps/

Qalqilya or Qalqiliya (

Arabic: قلقيلية, romanizedQalqīlyaḧ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate of the State of Palestine. In the 2017 census, the city had a population of 51,683.[1] Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank wall, with a narrow gap in the east controlled by the Israeli military and a tunnel to the Palestinian town of Hableh.[2][3] Qalqilya is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (as part of Area A), while remaining under Israeli military occupation
. Oranges are a major part of the city's economy.

Etymology

Qalqilya was known as Calecailes in the Roman period, and Calcelie in the Frankish sources from the early Medieval times.[4] The word "Qalqilya" might be derived from a Canaanite term which means "rounded stones or hills".[5]

Qalqiliya

According to E.H. Palmer, the name came from "a type of pomegranate", or "gurgling of water".[6]

History

The vicinity of Qalqilya has been populated since

prehistoric times, as attested to by the discovery of prehistoric flint tools.[7]

Ottoman period

In 1596, Qalqilya appeared in

nahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Sa'b in the Liwa of Nablus. It had a population of 13 Muslim households and paid a total of 3,910 akçe in taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olives, and goats or beehives.[8]

In 1838, Edward Robinson noted Kulakilieh as a village in Beni Sa'ab district, west of Nablus.[9]

In 1870,

AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b.[11]

In 1882, Qalqilya was described as "A large somewhat straggling village, with cisterns to the north and a pool on the south-west. The houses are badly built."[12] In 1883 some moved there from nearby Baqat al-Hatab, and in 1909 a municipal council to administer Qalqilya was established.[13]

British Mandate period

Qalqilya 1927

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Qalqilya had a population of 2,803 (2,794 Muslims and 9 Christians),[14] increasing in the 1931 census to 3,867 (3,855 Muslims and 12 Christians), in a total of 796 houses.[15]

In the 1938 statistics the population is listed at 4,503 (including 4 Jews).[16] In the 1945 statistics the population of Qalqilya was 5,850 (5,840 Muslims and 10 Christians[17]), who owned 27,915 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[18] Of this, 3701 dunams were for citrus and bananas, 3,232 were plantations and irrigable land, 16,197 used for cereals,[19] while 273 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[20]

Qalqilya 1942 1:20,000
Qalqilya 1945 1:250,000

1948 War

In the wake of the

Shaykh Muwannis fled to Qalqilya as refugees.[21]

Following the battle of the nearby Arab village of

Jordanian Arab Legion and the Iraqi expeditionary force, except for some 2,000 upper-class residents who moved to Nablus. The main reason for the partial return was the difficult economic situation in the front-line town and the inability to access the crop fields.[22]

Jordanian period

The area was annexed by Jordan in 1950. On the night of 10 October 1956 the Israeli army launched a raid against Qalqilya police station in response to a Jordanian attack on Israeli bus,[23] among other incidents.[24] The attack was ordered by Moshe Dayan and involved several thousand soldiers. During the fighting a paratroop company was surrounded by Jordanian troops and the survivors only escaped under close air-cover from four Israeli Air Force aircraft. Eighteen Israelis and between 70 and 90 Jordanians were killed in the operation.[25]

In 1961, the population of Qalqilya was 11,401.[26]

Post 1967

2018 United Nations map showing the Israeli occupation arrangements

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Qalqilya has been under Israeli occupation. Later that year, dozens of its inhabitants were evicted by Israel to Jordan, and at least 850 buildings were razed.[27] In his memoirs, Moshe Dayan described the destruction as a "punishment" that was designed to chase the inhabitants away contrary to the government policy.[28] The villagers were eventually allowed to return and the reconstruction of damaged houses was financed by the military authorities.[29] In September 1967, a census found 8,922 persons, of whom 1,837 were originally from Israeli territory.[30]

As part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), control of Qalqilya was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on 17 December 1995.[31]

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.[32]

In November 2015, Israel arrested what it alleged to be a network of 24 Hamas militants active in the city.[33]

On 20 October 2017, the Palestinian city of Qalqilya named a street after Saddam Hussein and erected a memorial with his likeness. The monument was unveiled at a ceremony attended by the Qalqilya District Governor Rafi Rawajba and two other Palestinian officials. It bears the slogan "Saddam Hussein – The Master of the Martyrs in Our Age".[34][35][36]

On 19 June 2022, a 53-year-old unarmed Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces as he allegedly sought to cross the Israeli West Bank barrier, which encircles Qalqilya.[37]

Geography

Qalqilya is located in the northwestern

Jaljuliya to the south.[13] It contains the point in the West Bank closest to the Mediterranean Sea, with about 14 km to the coast at Shefayim
.

Qalqilya has an average elevation of 57 meters above sea level. The average annual rainfall 587.4 millimeters and the average annual temperature is 19 degrees Celsius.[13]

Demographics

A Palestinian girl in Qalqilya in the West Bank

The 1997 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) recorded Qalqilya's population to be 22,168. The majority of the inhabitants (69.8%) were Palestinian refugees or their descendants.[38] In the 2007 census, Qalqilya's population was 41,739 (50.9% male and (49.1% female)).[39] The number of registered households was 7,866.[13] In the 2017 census, Qalqiliya's population was 51,683.[1]

Government

Hamas won the 2006 municipal elections in Qalqiliya and one of its members, Wajih Qawas, became mayor, although he was incarcerated by Israel for much of his term. On 12 September 2009, the PNA dismissed Qawas for allowing Qalqiliya's debt to grow unchecked, failing to attract international funding for city projects and ignoring orders by the Palestinian government. Qawas, however, viewed his dismissal as a result of the ongoing feud between Hamas, which dominates the PNA in the Gaza Strip and Fatah, which dominates the PNA in the West Bank.[40] Human rights groups criticized Qawas's dismissal, condemning the intervention by the central Palestinian authorities in the affairs of an elected official.[40] During the 2012 municipal elections, Fatah member Othman Dawood was elected mayor.[41]

Economy

Route of separation fence around Qalqilya and Hableh

Between 1967 and 1995 almost 80 percent of Qalqilya's labor force worked for Israeli companies or industries in the construction and agriculture sectors. The remaining 20% engaged in trade and commerce, marketing across the Green Line.[

Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem
(ARIJ), 45% of Qalqilya's working population was employed by government, 25% worked in agriculture, 15% worked in trade and commerce, 10% worked in industry and 5% worked in Israeli labor. In 2012, the unemployment rate was 22%, with those most affected formerly employed in agriculture, trade and services.

Guava after being picked from a plantation in Qalqilya
A Palestinian farmer near Qalqilya

Qalqilya is particularly known for its citrus crop and of its total of 10,252 dunams of land, (of which 5,930 are arable) 1802 dunams (about 17.6% of the city's land and over 30% of its arable land) are planted with citrus trees. Other major crops are olives and vegetables.[13] Local industries include the manufacture of foodstuffs, olive oil, dairy products, soap, glass, stone, marble and building materials, in addition to the manufacture of wood, and mineral water companies.

The Qalqilya Zoo, established in 1986, is currently the only zoo in the West Bank and in the State of Palestine, and, according to its owner, is the city's single-largest employer. It serves as one of Qalqilya's main attractions. The zoo houses 170 animals and works closely with zoologists from the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and the Ramat Gan Safari.[42]

Couple near the Separation Wall

The only factory for prosthetic limbs in the northern West Bank is in Qalqilya.

Souqs

In Qalqilya there are many markets, including:

  • Souq Abu Amsha (سوق أبو عمشة)
  • Souq Shaheen (سوق شاهين)
  • Souq Abu Jaber (سوق أبو جابر)
  • Souq Beshara (سوق بشارة)
  • Souq Uthman (سوق عثمان)
  • Souq Um Tareq (سوق أم طارق)
  • Souq Abu Aisha (سوق أبو عيشة)

Land usage and the barrier

Of the city's total area of 10,252 dunams, 3,027 were built-up areas, 266 were used for industrial purposes, 2,894 were planted with permanent crops, 419 were used for greenhouses, 274 for livestock ranges, 2,343 others were classified as arable, and 283 dunams were occupied by the

West Bank barrier. Nearly all of Qalqilya's urban area is under Palestinian civil jurisdiction and Israeli military control (Area B), while 64.7% of the city's municipal territory, mostly agricultural lands and open spaces, is under Israeli civil and military control (Area C).[13]

Jit, Palestinian town in Qalqilya

Israel's construction of the barrier began in 2002 and isolates Qalqilya from the north, west, south, and half of its eastern side, leaving a corridor in the east connecting it with smaller Palestinian villages and hamlets.

Arab towns in Israel, which contributed about 40% of the city's income prior to the barrier's completion. The barrier has also separated 1,836 dunams of mostly agricultural lands and open spaces within Qalqilya's jurisdiction from the city proper. Social relations between Qalqilya's inhabitants and those of other Palestinian cities have also been hindered by the barrier.[13]

  • Aerial view of Qalqilya, surrounded by the Separation Wall
  • Farmer in Qalqiliya
  • UNRWA Hospital building in Qalqilya
    UNRWA Hospital building in Qalqilya

Education

According to the 2007 PCBS census, 95.3% of the inhabitants over the age of 10 were literate. About 75% of the illiterate population were women. The town has 21 public schools, four private schools, three schools managed by UNRWA and 13 kindergartens. All schools are overseen by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education. As of 2012, there were 12,286 residents enrolled in school, with 660 teaching staff. In 2007, 10.5% of the population had graduated from an institution of higher education, while 15.7% had completed secondary education, 27.5% preparatory education, 27.4% elementary education and 13.8% had no formal education. There are two colleges in the city: the Ad Da'wa Islamic College established in 1978 and a campus of the Al-Quds Open University established in 1998.[13]

Culture

There are charities, recreational and cultural clubs, Qalqilya TV, and a radio station (Radio Nagham). In the Qalqilya governorate, the

NGO Cultural Forum Society (جمعية منتدى المثقفين الخيرية)[43]
played a role in publicizing the residents' economic and political problems due to the occupation, the wall, and settlements.

Palestinian boys practising Dabke in Qalqilya

International relations

Qalqilya is

twinned
with:

Notable people

References

  1. ^ a b c Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. .
  3. ^ United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Qalqiliya Closures map for December 2011 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Qalqilya: The Guava Capital" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  5. ^ "Sustainable Development in Qalqiliya, Palestine". reliefweb. 18 April 2016.
  6. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 183
  7. ^ Environmental Profile for the West Bank: Tulkarm District. Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem. 1996. p. 76.
  8. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 140
  9. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 127
  10. ^ Guérin, 1875, p. 356-357
  11. ^ Grossman, David (2004). Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 255.
  12. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 165
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Qalqilya City Profile" (PDF). Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem. 2013.
  14. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tulkarem, p. 27
  15. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 56
  16. ^ Village Statistics (PDF). 1938. p. 33.
  17. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 21
  18. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 76
  19. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 127
  20. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 177
  21. .
  22. , p.236
  23. .
  24. .
  25. ^ Morris, 1993, pp. 397–399.
  26. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 8 Archived 2018-01-20 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Morris 2001, p. 328
  28. ^ Elon 1983, pp. 231–232
  29. ^ Joel Perlmann. The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version. Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Levy Economics. Institute of Bard College. November 2011 – February 2012. [Digitized from: Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 1967 Conducted in the Areas Administered by the IDF, Vols. 1–5 (1967–70), and Census of Population and Housing: East Jerusalem, Parts 1 and 2 (1968–70). http://www.levyinstitute.org/palestinian-census/.] Vol. 1, Table 2.
  30. .
  31. ^ The Wall (Qalqilya) 2003[permanent dead link] Relief Web, Retrieved 10th Dec 2009
  32. ^ Zitun, Yoav. Hamas network exposed by IDF and Shin Bet in Qalqiliya. Ynet News. 2015-11-10.
  33. ^ "West Bank city erects memorial to Saddam Hussein". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  34. ^ "Palestinian activists build monument to Saddam Hussein". AP. October 23, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  35. ^ Ben Cohen (October 20, 2017). "Memorial to Iraqi Tyrant Saddam Hussein Unveiled in Palestinian West Bank City". Algemeiner. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  36. ^ Boxerman, Aaron. "Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops near Qalqilya security barrier". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  37. ^ "Palestinian Population by Locality and Refugee Status". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). 1997 Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). 1999.
  38. ^ "Population, Housing and Establishment Census 2007 : Census Final Results in The West Bank Summary (Population and Housing)" (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  39. ^ a b Sharp, Heather (October 16, 2009). "Political struggle over West Bank town".
  40. ^ Knell, Yolande (2015-01-20). "How Palestinian democracy has failed to flourish". BBC News.
  41. ^ Splish, splash, new Kalkiya's hippo's takin' a bath, Haaretz
  42. ^ "Qalqilya Cultural Forum Society Facebook Page". Facebook. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  43. ^ "دراسة تحليلية: الواقع السياسي والاقتصادي والاجتماعي في محافظة قلقيلية 2014 - الائتلاف من أجل النزاهة والمساءلة - أمان". 2018-08-30. Archived from the original on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2021-05-27.

Bibliography

External links