Qalandiya International Diary (Part 3)

Jerusalem was a completely different context for Qalandiya International (QI) and its theme of “Return.” I hadn’t been to Jerusalem in five years, and the fault lines in this occupied and contested city have only deepened since then. The dispossession of Palestinians (and other non-Jewish residents) from their homes and properties here is not a historical event—it is very much ongoing, and fuels the violence in the city. In October 2015, there was a dramatic escalation in violence after Israeli police raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City, leading to series of knife attacks and other deadly incidents by young Palestinians on Jewish residents and tourists, and more than 200 Palestinians killed in security operations. (There’s a detailed chronology here. A year later, in October 2016, Jerusalem was still a city on edge—though attacks had abated, they hadn’t stopped completely (there was a shooting at a light-rail stop the day after we visited). The streets were filled with police, and the walls lined with graffiti supporting the violent conflict.