The ghetto of Bir Nabala Credit: Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign. Date: August 26th, 2006.
Bir Nabala is one of the Palestinian places in Jerusalem district whose mere existence is threatened by the Apartheid Wall choking life in the town.
Bir Nabala is situated northwest of Jerusalem and has been for centuries weaved into the social and cultural fabric of the Palestinian capital. With the illegal annexation of Jerusalem to the Occupation shortly after 1967, the Zionist regime carved Bir Nabala out of the “Greater Jerusalem” district that is to build a Jewish-only city and environment.
This move initially boosted Bir Nabala’s economy. An important strategic location, it provided easy access to both Jerusalem to the south and Ramallah and the rest of the West Bank to the north. Hundreds of Jerusalem traders that were strangled by ever increasing restrictions and taxes within the Occupation boundaries of Jerusalem had no choice but to move to Bir Nabala and opened markets, offices, workshops and factories making it a thriving commercial centre. Many traders traveled daily from Jerusalem and workers came from the West Bank .
After the start of the al Aqsa Intifada Bir Nabala was sealed off from both Jerusalem and the West Bank by sieges and closures, especially after the roads to Jerusalem and Qalandiya checkpoint were closed. All commercial life of the town was affected and most traders were forced to move away, furthering the Zionist regime’s policy of expulsion.
Above: In 2004 Occupation forces started construction of the Wall in the main road of Ar Ram which connects Bir Nabala with Jerusalem. 2000 people with Jerusalem IDs and businesses in Bir Nabala were forced to move to Jerusalem in order to continue their work and businesses. Only 200 residents with Jerusalem IDs remained steadfast and refused to move.
Above: The Occupation hermetically sealed the northeastern entrance of Bir Nabala with stones and fences.
Above: The isolation of Bir Nabala from Ar Ram and Jerusalem stopped all commercial activity.
Above: In Bir Nabala you can see dozens of closed businesses.
Above: Commercial and residential rents dropped from 250 Jordanian Dinar to less than 80 Dinar for an apartment or shop in the centre of the town.
Above: The Atarot industrial zone was built in the 1970s as part of the Zionist settlement of Jerusalem that aimed to replicate the ethnic cleansing of West Jerusalem in the east. Palestinian cheap labour is exploited for the Occupation economy. Since recently, the economic exploitation is coupled with hermetic political and social control as workers without Jerusalem ID now have to apply periodically for special permits in order to work there.
Above: In 2005 Occupation forces issued confiscation orders for the footprint of the Wall stealing 147 dunums of land. The Wall to the north of the town is complete and work is currently being carried out on the rest of the Wall around Bir Nabala.
Above: In 2005 Occupation forces issued confiscation orders for the footprint of the Wall stealing 147 dunums of land. The Wall to the north of the town is complete and work is currently being carried out on the rest of the Wall around Bir Nabala.
Above: The Bir Nabala town council expects the Wall to isolate a total of 750 dunums and prevent any new construction in the future – residents are left with only the already built-up area.
Above: Now the only remaining entrance to the town has been closed. Residents have to use a tunnel with a checkpoint to the northwest of the town under settler road 443.
Above: This tunnel is the only route in or out for all three villages in this ghetto.
Above: Residents now need a lot longer to reach ar Ram and Jerusalem and often face lengthy delays at the tunnel checkpoint. The daily harassment by the Occupation forces leaves Palestinian life and movement at he whim of the oppressor.
The Zionist strategy of total ghettoization and Orwellian control which is being carried out all over the West Bank and Gaza is one step closer to realisation.
