Ramallah lies some 17 km to the north of Jerusalem. In ancient times, the city served as an important crossroad. It is generally believed that Ramallah became a permanent village in the 16th Century, when the family of Rashed Haddad, a Christian tribe of blacksmiths, settled there. Ottoman archives record 16th Century Ramallah as a well established agricultural community (basically in the area around today’s old city. Towards the end of the 19th Century many church representatives and missionaries came to the area and left their footprints by establishing institutions such as schools and hospitals.

 

During both the first and second Intifadas, Ramallah was one of the centers of confrontations with the Israeli army. Until recently (i.e., before Israel imposed its closures and built its illegal separation barrier), Ramallah was an important crossroad to Jericho and the Jordan Valley as well as link between the south and north of the West Bank.

 

SITES

 

Ramallah – as well as its adjacent ‘sister city’ Al-Bireh - has no major religious or historical sites, but is unusual for its broad mix of people from different areas of Palestine who have moved there for work or education. Ramallah has a lively town center, blooming restaurant scene, and has become, despite all movement and other restrictions, the commercial and business center of the West Bank.

 

In addition, it houses the government headquarters (Muqata’a), the battered compound which had also served as headquarters of the late Pres. Arafat and today houses his mausoleum.

 

 

POLITICAL ISSUES

 

•                Around the city, two refugee camps are located (Ama’ri and Jalazoun).

 

•                In the Ramallah district, numerous Israeli settlements have been built, mostly on land confiscated from Palestinian owners.

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Qalqilya is an ancient Canaanite town. Until in 1948, Qalqilya was a small village which is not shown on many maps. After the War of 1948, when Zionist militia expelled numerous Palestinians from their homes and prohibited their return, many families fled to the West Bank villages; some 30,000 of Qalqilya’s current population of 45,000 are 1948 refugees and their descendants. Qalqilya itself lost some 80% of its land in 1948, as it was confiscated by the newly established state of Israel and lay beyond the new borderline. In the course of the 1967 War, the city was captured by Israeli forces, who expelled the population Qalqilya to surrounding areas and destroyed most of the city’s infrastructure, incl. the old city and many homes. After several weeks an international resolution compelled Israel to allow the residents to return and rebuild their town. Today, Qalqilya - located adjacent to the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice Line) - is the main city of the Qalqilya governorate. Qalqilya is a particularly productive agricultural region, known as the breadbasket of the West Bank, and growing some of the highest quality olives. Accordingly, most residents have traditionally been farmers. Thus, they have been especially hard hit by the construction of Israel’s separation barrier, which almost completely encircles the town, cutting the city off from farmlands on both sides of the fence.

POLITICAL ISSUES

 

•                The city is almost completely surrounded by Israel’s separation fence.

 

•                In the Qalqilya area, numerous Israeli settlements have been built on land confiscated from Palestinian owners.

The Israeli government policies against Jerusalem started since 1967.

It started building settlements all around this holy city, dividing all the areas and villages around in the excuse of security.

Besides, impossible conditions are put to Palestinians asking for permissions to build.

This policy aims to achieve the transfer idea.