[Animals] The National Zoo in Qalqilya breaks the siege of the besieged city

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https://alquds.com/2021/10/23/حديقة-الحيوانات-الوطنية-في-قلقيلية-تف/

 

 

Qalqilya-"Al-Quds".com-Mustafa Sabri- The National Zoo of the municipality of Qalqilya, with an area of more than forty dunums, is the only one in the West Bank, which made it an attractive area for all trekkers from Palestinian cities and nearby areas in the Palestinian interior.
And the city of Qalqilya, after settlement, bypass roads and the construction of the wall, has become a suffocated and imprisoned city, which includes more than 55 thousand citizens, moving in a narrow area estimated at four thousand and two hundred acres, and an additional area in which construction was taking place and used for agriculture.
Dr.. Hashem al-Masry, mayor of Qalqilya, said: “The municipality took care of the national zoo as a treasure for the city, making it an area where visitors come to. The zoo was a center for all visitors, hikers, school and university students, and the Palestinian interior areas, as they come from the northern and southern triangle regions and the central region, and this matter helped in the presence of an active movement towards the besieged city.”
Al-Masry pointed out: “There is a basic budget allocated annually from the general budget of the municipality in millions of shekels with the aim of developing the facilities of the national park to suit most visitors’ desires. There are animal facilities of all kinds, a game city, an educational museum, a public restaurant, a children’s section and public sessions.”
Al-Masry pointed out, "The National Zoo has a major role in supporting and steadfastness of the people of the city, which is subjected to the unjust measures of the occupation."
Citizens of Qalqilya confirmed in separate meetings with them that the presence of the national park contributed greatly to strengthening the city’s economy, which is constantly subjected to setbacks, and also encouraged visitors to come to it.”
Qalqilya Khaled Shreim (55 years) said: “Before the construction of the wall and the establishment of settlements, Qalqilya was open to all areas towards the Palestinian interior and to the areas towards the east. A link linking one entrance from the east and a southern entrance through a tunnel that connects the southern villages only, so the zoo had a role in maintaining communication with the outside world.”
Visitor Ali Al-Khatib from the town of Jaljulya in the Palestinian interior says: “I prefer to come here for several reasons, including privacy in dealing with sessions, appropriate prices, calmness, and proximity to the place, which is only a few kilometers away from my place of residence. The crossing officer accepted, wondering why I went to Qalqilya constantly. When I told him for a walk and for the presence of the zoo, he replied with astonishment, saying: “All of Israel did not like the sea, huge zoos, and public areas, and you came to a small city where there is no life.”
Al-Khatib added: “I conveyed to the people of my town and my friends what this officer said about Qalqilya and how they deal with us as Palestinians, and they do not want us to come to each other, and they seek to increase the distance between us.”
The National Zoo was established in 1985 on government land that was a forest area, and a camp for the Jordanian army was established in that area during the British Mandate.