Check out my article published today in Jadaliyya: titled "Qalandia: The Potential to Transform Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance"
selected quotes: "In the event of a truly mass protest movement in Israel/Palestine—the kind we have seen in Tunisia, Syria and Egypt—Palestinians will need their own version of Tahrir Square, and Qalandia has that potential."
"Second, Qalandia has a unique geographically central location. It lies at the center of the massive urban landscape of North Jerusalem, which is easily accessible to Palestinians from ‘East Jerusalem’, as well as Ramallah, al-Bira, and al-Ram. Also a bit further away, although not prohibitively, are two major Palestinian urban centers in the West Bank: Bethlehem and Nablus. Many other locales that have become sites of mass protest offer less geo-significance. Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, for instance, is totally inaccessible to West Bank Palestinians. Additionally, places like Bil’in, Nil’in, and Nabi Saleh among others in the West Bank are further remote and harder for Palestinians and Israelis inside Israel to access. Just imagine, for instance, activists descending on Qalandia from all corners of Palestine to protest an end to the occupation."
selected quotes: "In the event of a truly mass protest movement in Israel/Palestine—the kind we have seen in Tunisia, Syria and Egypt—Palestinians will need their own version of Tahrir Square, and Qalandia has that potential."
"Second, Qalandia has a unique geographically central location. It lies at the center of the massive urban landscape of North Jerusalem, which is easily accessible to Palestinians from ‘East Jerusalem’, as well as Ramallah, al-Bira, and al-Ram. Also a bit further away, although not prohibitively, are two major Palestinian urban centers in the West Bank: Bethlehem and Nablus. Many other locales that have become sites of mass protest offer less geo-significance. Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, for instance, is totally inaccessible to West Bank Palestinians. Additionally, places like Bil’in, Nil’in, and Nabi Saleh among others in the West Bank are further remote and harder for Palestinians and Israelis inside Israel to access. Just imagine, for instance, activists descending on Qalandia from all corners of Palestine to protest an end to the occupation."
