Qalqilyah (Arabic قلقيلية Qalqīlyaḧ; Standard Hebrew קלקיליה Qalqilya) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. Most of the residents are farmers, and constant contact with Israeli farmers has made Qalqīlyah a bilingual town. The town is located in the West Bank's closest point to the Mediterranean Sea, some 12 km away. As of 1996, its number of inhabitants was estimated at 28,300. The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Early history

The town's area has been populated from prehistoric times, and prehistoric flint tools were found in the modern town's area. In Roman times, a way-station existed in the location called Kalkaliya. Invading armies, many of which came from the Mediterranean coast just 12 km away, often came through Qalqilyah. Its Canaanite origins are murky, but its current name comes from the Roman Qala'alia, meaning high fortress. During the subsequent Muslem rules of the area, the town was populated with Arab inhabitants. Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... Pebble beach made up of flint nodules eroded out of the nearby chalk cliffs, Cape Arkona, Rügen Flint (or flintstone) is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline silica rock with a glassy appearance. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ...

Recent history

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 Turks. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Combatants Allies: • Serbia, • Russia, • France, • Romania, • Belgium, • British Empire and Dominions, • United States, • Italy, • ...and others Central Powers: • Germany, • Austria-Hungary, • Ottoman Empire, • Bulgaria Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 8 million Full list Military dead: 3 million Civilian dead: 3 million Total: 6 million Full... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ...

Thousands of landless Palestinian refugees swarmed the city after the Arab defeat in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and made one city quarter their home. Known as the people of Kufre Saba and Arab Abu Kishek, the refugees got UNRWA help, but a refugee camp was never created because local politicians negotiated UN help for the whole city in return for integrating the refugees. A Palestinian refugee In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a Palestinian refugee is a refugee from Palestine created by the Palestinian Exodus, which Palestinians call the Nakba (نكبة, meaning disaster or catastrophe). // History Many Palestinians had already become refugees prior to the time neighboring Arab states attacked the newly established State of... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The 1948 Arab-Israeli War is referred to as the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) or as the War of Liberation (Hebrew: מלחמת השחרור) by Israelis. ... The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees. ... United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

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. The town came under Israeli occupation in the 1967 Six-Day War. The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Combatants Israel Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Sharif Zaid Ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 50,000 troops (264,000 including mobilized reservists); 197 combat aircraft Egypt 150,000 troops; Syria 75,000; Jordan...

Following the Oslo Accords, the town came under the juristriction of the Palestinian Authority. Qalqilya was the scene of the first fireclash in the Al-Aqsa Intifada, on September 29, 2000 (a day after Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem), when a Palestinian police officer working with Israeli police on a joint patrol opened fire and killed his Israeli counterpart. Since then Israeli security forces routinely enter the town and arrest suspects. The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP), were finalized in Oslo, Norway on August 20, 1993, and subsequently officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993, with Mahmoud Abbas signing for the... The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ... The wreckage of a commuter bus in West Jerusalem after a suicide bombing on Tuesday, 18 June 2002. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... For more detail of Sharons recent illness, see Illnesses of Ariel Sharon. ... The Temple Mount (Hebrew: (without niqqud: הר הבית), Har haBáyit) or Noble Sanctuary (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, ▶ (help· info)) is a hotly contested religious site in the Old City of Jerusalem. ... Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: (help· info) Yerushalayim; Arabic: (help· info) al-Quds, Greek Ιεροσόλυμα), is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 meters. ... Israeli Police logo The Israeli police (משטרת ישראל) is a civilian force in the State of Israel. ... The Israeli Security Forces (ISF) are several organizations collectively responsible for Israels security. ...

Since 2003, the Israeli West Bank barrier has been built to completely encircle Qalqīlyah, separating the city from lands on both sides of the fence, leading to anger and protests from many of the citizens of the city. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The barrier route as of May 2005. ...

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.

See also

Palestine, Mariam Shahin and George Azar 2005, ISBN 156656557X

[1]Irish eyes in the Westbank