The ghetto of Bir Nabala
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The ghetto of Bir Nabala

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.

***image1***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.

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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.