Qualqilya: a ghetto

Qalqilya, once a prosperous market town, with half the water resources in the West Bank, was an important agricultural resource which exported fruit and vegetables to Israel and the Gulf States. Now it is a ghetto almost totally surrounded by the wall. The only entrance and exit for the 42,000 residents is a bottle-neck. Gates, overlooked by a watchtower, control the flow in and out of the town — one person or vehicle at a time. The town can be transformed into a prison at the whim of any occupation soldier.