Qalqilya

Qalqiliya (Arabic قلقيلية Qalqiliya, sometimes قلقيليا Qalqiliya; alternatively in German Qalqilya ) is a Palestinian city with about 43,000 inhabitants (2007 ), of which 35,000 are descendants of refugees, in the northwestern part of the West Bank. It lies on the so-called Green Line, ie the armistice line Israel.

History

History to 1967

During the first Arab-Israeli War, the Israeli army conquered the Palestinian town of Kafr Saba and drove the native population. The town of Kafr Saba was between today Kfar Saba and Qalqiliya. Many of these refugees fled to Qalqiliya. The city was administered after the armistice agreement between Israel and the Arab belligerents 1949-1967 of Jordan. The city was attacked in 1956 by the Israeli army, in which 18 Israelis were killed and another 68 were wounded. The number of killed Jordanian soldiers between 80 and 90, 1967 the city was conquered by the Israeli army and expelled the population, many houses were demolished. However, he laubte the Israeli army later return.

Recent history

Legally, there is Qalqiliya since the Oslo II agreement of 1995 in the so-called zone A, which is the sole control of the Palestinian Authority. However, Israel moved to the beginning of the al -Aqsa Intifada back into the city. It is planned, however the Palestinians to transfer control of Qalqiliya back.

To Qalqiliya runs around - on Palestinian territory - since 2003 under construction Israeli separation barrier. The latter has in this area in the form of a concrete wall. The barrier surrounds the city almost completely, only in the East the only access to Qalqiliya carried out by an Israeli checkpoint. Qalqiliya is thus cut off from its neighboring towns as well as its agricultural land. Citizens of the city have addressed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court in order to ensure access to their agricultural land during the olive harvest, according to the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din in October 2010; this was denied by the Israeli authorities.

Friendship cities

• Germany Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany