Day 5: Students Movement Restricted

Today was a grim day as there was a shooting between Hamas and Fatah in Qalqilya, leaving one of my students locked into the town. Qalqilya is an ancient roman town being strangulated by the wall which circulates the city cutting off all outside access with nothing but an entry/exit gate, monitored by the IDF. Situated about 12 kilometers east of the Mediterranean sea between Israel and the West Bank, has a total population of 45,000 inhabitants, all Palestinian from various political factions. Thousands of landless Palestinian refugees took refuge in the city during the 1948 Palestinian exodus in the lead up to and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, making one city quarter their home. I heard the news of the shooting in the morning, leaving members of both groups dead and as I questioned my fellow students as to the whereabouts of Nasreen, they told me she was from Qalqilya and lived next to the place where the incursion took place. My heart dropped hoping she was ok and frustrated at the barriers that stand in front of such talent. Internal conflict is one of the results of the occupation, affecting the lives of both Arabs and Israeli's.