The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority

The Diplomats' Quarter north of Ramallah (all photos courtesy of Bassam Almohor).

14 JUNE 2021 • By Raja Shehadeh

 

 

Raja Shehadeh

 

After the glorious peace agreement with Israel known as the Oslo Accords was signed in 1995, all that remained to do was to find an appropriate manner to express the nation’s gratitude for the hard and successful work of the Palestinian diplomats.

Serious thought was given to the matter, until eventually the head of the new Palestinian Authority determined that the grant of a house was the best reward to give Palestinians whose homes were repeatedly stolen or destroyed time and again by Israel. And so a neighborhood dubbed The Diplomats’ Quarter dedicated to the hard working heroes came into being.

During its long occupation of the West Bank, Israel had taken huge tracts of Palestinian hectares, which it first proceeded to declare public land. Only Jewish settlers could benefit from these areas. Yet after investigations were undertaken by the Palestinian Authority it was revealed that there remained a few tracts of public land here and there within ‘Area A’ that the diplomats had succeeded in wrenching from Israeli hands and placing under the exclusive territorial jurisdiction of the Palestinians. These plots were registered in the name of the treasury from the time when Jordan was responsible for the area. Whereas it was within the power of the PA to dispose of these lands as it deemed fit, it was decided that there was no better use of this scenic land than to grant it free to the diplomats.

 

diplomatic quarters 2 - bassam almohor.jpg

 

And so, on the slope of one of the still-untouched hills north of Ramallah, the work of digging up this pristine hill began. To save money a retaining wall was not built and the rubble extracted for the foundation and infrastructure was instead deposited on the lower terraces, which were still in private ownership. What had stood as a gently sloping hill in the open area north of the city soon turned into a construction site. With the gorging that was taking place it looked like a wound in the landscape which with the piling rubble seemed like it was lacerating.

Those responsible for the project were pleased of their choice of location and could not stop marveling at how wonderful it would be that, once the work was  completed, the face of the hill visible from the city would be the site of the diplomats’ neighborhood standing there for all to see – a shining trophy of how the Palestinian Authority rewards its officials for their successes.

The guidelines given to the architect were in line with the Palestinian Authority’s espousal of the principle of egalitarianism and non-discrimination;  thus, each of the houses would have to be the same size as the other. And so the diplomats’ houses came to be built in rows with one identical house snuggled up to the one after it. The architect who conceived of the plan for the project came up with a design of reams of buildings strapped along the belly of the hill with one row of houses behind another.

When the contractor finished his work the area looked just like an Israeli settlement, with rows of similar houses rolled out side by side. The Palestinian Authority seemed to think this was fine. But among the city’s inhabitants opinion was divided. Those who were enthusiastic about the likeness thought that it proved that the settlements Israel built on our hills were no longer to be an exclusively Israeli trademark. Palestinians were just as competent of conferring their own claim to the land, and just as capable of transforming the Palestinian landscape. Others, however, felt pained that the Palestinians of all people were copying images of American suburbia. But what distressed this group even more was the visual similarity between the Diplomats’ Quarter and an Israeli settlement.

When at long last the contractor was ready to hand over to each of the diplomats the keys to their new home, a number of them, who were accustomed to more sumptuous living conditions, found that the workmanship was so shoddy that they did not want to move to these homes granted to them free of charge. So for hefty amounts they sold their homes to others who were anxious to move out of the busy and crowded city and live in what they believed was superior housing fit for diplomats, in a quarter that continued to bear their name even after only a minority of diplomats opted to live there.

 

diplomatic quarters 3 - bassam almohor.jpg

 

One of those who bought a house in the diplomats’ neighborhood was an acquaintance of mine. He told me that he found the state of the house he paid for so handsomely so atrocious that he had to demolish most of the inside and start all over. This was costly but given the astronomical price of land in Ramallah, he still thought he’d struck a good bargain.

All was going well with the remedial work until a pernicious problem with the piping surfaced, which seemed impossible to resolve. The water flow was very weak, really only a trickle, despite the fact that the water coming into the house from the outside entered the main pipe in strength. He consulted a number of plumbers and still the problem persisted.

One day he was standing outside his house inspecting the garden, when his next door neighbor passed by. He greeted him and asked how he was enjoying living in this grand neighborhood.

Grand it might be, he grudgingly agreed, but what sort of life can one have when the water coming through the taps is only a trickle. I wonder, he asked his neighbor, do you have the same problem in your house?

Ah, said the neighbor. We did until we discovered the source of the problem.

Why don’t you tell me, perhaps it might be the same in my house.

And indeed it was.

When the main pipe was dug out as the neighbor had advised, the problem was identified. The laborers who built these diplomats’ homes had decided to reward those heroes of the Palestinian cause with an appropriate national symbol. They saw the Palestinian flags fluttering proudly over the area of the project and decided to pull them down and stuff them into the main pipe through which water flowed into each unit. That way this project would be permanently stamped with the nationalist credentials it deserves.

As the owner proceeded to pull out from the narrow main pipe one crumpled flag after another, he told me he felt no anger only great relief when the water began to flow in great force to his house. He harbored no rancor at the workers who impressed him by their determination to make known their feeling about how the nation rewards its heroes.

 

Raja Shehadeh

Raja Shehadeh Raja Shehadeh is a lawyer and writer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books published by Profile Books including the Orwell Prize-winning Palestinian Walks, as well as... Read more

Raja Shehadeh is a lawyer and writer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books published by Profile Books including the Orwell Prize-winning Palestinian Walks, as well as Strangers in the House; Occupation Diaries; Language of War, Language of Peace; A Rift in time; Where the Line is Drawn and his most recent book Going Home A Walk Through Fifty Years of Occupation. He lives in Ramallah, Palestine.

Read less

Join Our Community

TMR exists thanks to its readers and supporters. By sharing our stories and celebrating cultural pluralism, we aim to counter racism, xenophobia, and exclusion with knowledge, empathy, and artistic expression.

Learn more

RELATED

Essays

Lament For My Dear Cousin and Friend in Tulkarm

3 OCTOBER 2025 • By Thoth
Lament For My Dear Cousin and Friend in Tulkarm
Uncategorized

Reading the Landscape: Cultural Clues and Regime Messages in Iran

12 SEPTEMBER 2025 • By Raha Nik-Andish
Reading the Landscape: Cultural Clues and Regime Messages in Iran
Essays

From Stitch to Symbol: The Power of Palestinian Tatreez

22 AUGUST 2025 • By Joanna Barakat
From Stitch to Symbol: The Power of Palestinian Tatreez
Essays

Unwritten Stories from Palestine

4 JULY 2025 • By Thoth
Unwritten Stories from Palestine
Essays

Life Under the Shadow of Missiles: the View From Iran

20 JUNE 2025 • By Amir
Life Under the Shadow of Missiles: the View From Iran
Art

Neither Here Nor There

2 MAY 2025 • By Myriam Cohenca
Neither Here Nor There
Essays

Looking for a Job, Living and Dying in Iran: The Logistics of Going Back

2 MAY 2025 • By Raha Nik-Andish
Looking for a Job, Living and Dying in Iran: The Logistics of Going Back
Featured excerpt

“Return to Ramallah,” an excerpt from Too Soon by Betty Shamieh

2 MAY 2025 • By Betty Shamieh
“Return to Ramallah,” an excerpt from <em>Too Soon</em> by Betty Shamieh
Film

Gaza, Sudan, Israel/Palestine Documentaries Show in Thessaloniki

28 MARCH 2025 • By Iason Athanasiadis
Gaza, Sudan, Israel/Palestine Documentaries Show in Thessaloniki
Book Reviews

Memories of Palestine through Contemporary Media

7 FEBRUARY 2025 • By Malu Halasa
Memories of Palestine through Contemporary Media
Essays

A Fragile Ceasefire as Lebanon Survives, Traumatized

29 NOVEMBER 2024 • By Tarek Abi Samra
A Fragile Ceasefire as Lebanon Survives, Traumatized
Essays

A Jewish Meditation on the Palestinian Genocide

15 NOVEMBER 2024 • By Sheryl Ono
A Jewish Meditation on the Palestinian Genocide
Editorial

The Editor’s Letter Following the US 2024 Presidential Election

8 NOVEMBER 2024 • By Jordan Elgrably
The Editor’s Letter Following the US 2024 Presidential Election
Art & Photography

The Palestinian Gazelle

1 NOVEMBER 2024 • By Manal Mahamid
The Palestinian Gazelle
Opinion

Should a Climate-Destroying Dictatorship Host a Climate-Saving Conference?

25 OCTOBER 2024 • By Lucine Kasbarian
Should a Climate-Destroying Dictatorship Host a Climate-Saving Conference?
Book Reviews

The Walls Have Eyes—Surveillance in the Algorithm Age

18 OCTOBER 2024 • By Iason Athanasiadis
<em>The Walls Have Eyes</em>—Surveillance in the Algorithm Age
Essays

Meta’s Community Standards as a Tool of Digital/Settler-Colonialism

6 SEPTEMBER 2024 • By Omar Zahzah
Meta’s Community Standards as a Tool of Digital/Settler-Colonialism
Book Reviews

Israel’s Black Panthers by Asaf Elia-Shalev—a Review

19 JULY 2024 • By Ilan Benattar
<em>Israel’s Black Panthers</em> by Asaf Elia-Shalev—a Review
Centerpiece

Dare Not Speak—a One-Act Play

7 JUNE 2024 • By Hassan Abdulrazzak
<em>Dare Not Speak</em>—a One-Act Play
Opinion

Equating Critique of Israel with Antisemitism, US Academics are Being Silenced

12 APRIL 2024 • By Maura Finkelstein
Equating Critique of Israel with Antisemitism, US Academics are Being Silenced
Art & Photography

Will Artists Against Genocide Boycott the Venice Biennale?

18 MARCH 2024 • By Hadani Ditmars
Will Artists Against Genocide Boycott the Venice Biennale?
Essays

Israel’s Environmental and Economic Warfare on Lebanon

3 MARCH 2024 • By Michelle Eid
Israel’s Environmental and Economic Warfare on Lebanon
Columns

Genocide: “That bell can’t be unrung. That thought can’t be unthunk.”

3 MARCH 2024 • By Amal Ghandour
Genocide: “That bell can’t be unrung. That thought can’t be unthunk.”
Art

Intimacy & Our Inner Sanctuary—an Interview with Rana Samara

4 FEBRUARY 2024 • By Naima Morelli
Intimacy & Our Inner Sanctuary—an Interview with Rana Samara
Columns

Driving in Palestine Now is More Dangerous Than Ever

29 JANUARY 2024 • By TMR
Driving in Palestine Now is More Dangerous Than Ever
Featured article

Israel-Palestine: Peace Under Occupation?

29 JANUARY 2024 • By Laëtitia Soula
Israel-Palestine: Peace Under Occupation?
Art

Palestinian Artists

12 JANUARY 2024 • By TMR
Palestinian Artists
Columns

Messages From Gaza Now

11 DECEMBER 2023 • By Hossam Madhoun
Messages From Gaza Now
Beirut

“The Summer They Heard Music”—a short story by MK Harb

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By MK Harb
“The Summer They Heard Music”—a short story by MK Harb
Fiction

“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad
Opinion

Gaza vs. Mosul from a Medical and Humanitarian Standpoint

27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Ahmed Twaij
Gaza vs. Mosul from a Medical and Humanitarian Standpoint
Art & Photography

Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled

27 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Nada Ghosn
Palestinian Artists & Anti-War Supporters of Gaza Cancelled
Book Reviews

The Fiction of Palestine’s Ghassan Zaqtan

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Cory Oldweiler
The Fiction of Palestine’s Ghassan Zaqtan
Opinion

Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War

13 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Mark LeVine
Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War
Islam

October 7 and the First Days of the War

23 OCTOBER 2023 • By Robin Yassin-Kassab
October 7 and the First Days of the War
Editorial

Palestine and the Unspeakable

16 OCTOBER 2023 • By Lina Mounzer
Palestine and the Unspeakable
Book Reviews

What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?

21 AUGUST 2023 • By Jonathan Ofir
What’s the Solution for Jews and Palestine in the Face of Apartheid Zionism?
Opinion

The Middle East is Once Again West Asia

14 AUGUST 2023 • By Chas Freeman, Jr.
The Middle East is Once Again West Asia
Opinion

The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning

10 JULY 2023 • By Yousef M. Aljamal
The End of the Palestinian State? Jenin Is Only the Beginning
Essays

Alien Entities in the Desert

4 JUNE 2023 • By Dror Shohet
Alien Entities in the Desert
Featured Artist

Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023

4 JUNE 2023 • By TMR
Nasrin Abu Baker: The Markaz Review Featured Artist, June 2023
Islam

From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back

29 MAY 2023 • By Chas Freeman, Jr.
From Pawns to Global Powers: Middle East Nations Strike Back
Book Reviews

How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town

15 MAY 2023 • By Karim Kattan
How Bethlehem Evolved From Jerusalem’s Sleepy Backwater to a Global Town
TMR Conversations

TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh

11 MAY 2023 • By Amal Ghandour, Raja Shehadeh
TMR CONVERSATIONS: Amal Ghandour Interviews Raja Shehadeh
Film Reviews

Yallah Gaza! Presents the Case for Gazan Humanity

10 APRIL 2023 • By Karim Goury
<em>Yallah Gaza!</em> Presents the Case for Gazan Humanity
Beirut

Tel Aviv-Beirut, a Film on War, Love & Borders

20 MARCH 2023 • By Karim Goury
<em>Tel Aviv-Beirut</em>, a Film on War, Love & Borders
Beirut

Interview with Michale Boganim, Director of Tel Aviv-Beirut

20 MARCH 2023 • By Karim Goury
Interview with Michale Boganim, Director of <em>Tel Aviv-Beirut</em>
Book Reviews

In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir

13 MARCH 2023 • By Amal Ghandour
In Search of Fathers: Raja Shehadeh’s Palestinian Memoir
Essays

Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay

5 MARCH 2023 • By Anam Raheem
Home Under Siege: a Palestine Photo Essay
Art & Photography

Becoming Palestine Imagines a Liberated Future

27 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Katie Logan
<em>Becoming Palestine</em> Imagines a Liberated Future
Art

The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art

26 DECEMBER 2022 • By Malu Halasa
The Creative Resistance in Palestinian Art
Essays

Conflict and Freedom in Palestine, a Trip Down Memory Lane

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Eman Quotah
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3

5 DECEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 3
Book Reviews

Fida Jiryis on Palestine in Stranger in My Own Land

28 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Diana Buttu
Fida Jiryis on Palestine in <em>Stranger in My Own Land</em>
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 2

31 OCTOBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 2
Columns

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1

26 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 1
Columns

Phoneless in Filthy Berlin

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Maisan Hamdan, Rana Asfour
Phoneless in Filthy Berlin
Columns

Unapologetic Palestinians, Reactionary Germans

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Abir Kopty
Unapologetic Palestinians, Reactionary Germans
Art & Photography

Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project

15 SEPTEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
Photographer Mohamed Badarne (Palestine) and his U48 Project
Columns

A Palestinian Musician Thrives in France: Yousef Zayed’s Journey

22 AUGUST 2022 • By Melissa Chemam
A Palestinian Musician Thrives in France: Yousef Zayed’s Journey
Opinion

Attack on Salman Rushdie is Shocking Tip of the Iceberg

15 AUGUST 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Attack on Salman Rushdie is Shocking Tip of the Iceberg
Opinion

Israel and Palestine: Focus on the Problem, Not the Solution

30 MAY 2022 • By Mark Habeeb
Israel and Palestine: Focus on the Problem, Not the Solution
Art

Fouad Agbaria: Featured Artist

15 MAY 2022 • By TMR
Fouad Agbaria: Featured Artist
Essays

We, Palestinian Israelis

15 MAY 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
We, Palestinian Israelis
Book Reviews

In East Jerusalem, Palestinian Youth Struggle for Freedom

15 MAY 2022 • By Mischa Geracoulis
Featured excerpt

Palestinian and Israeli: Excerpt from “Haifa Fragments”

15 MAY 2022 • By khulud khamis
Palestinian and Israeli: Excerpt from “Haifa Fragments”
Latest Reviews

Palestinian Filmmaker, Israeli Passport

15 MAY 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Palestinian Filmmaker, Israeli Passport
Book Reviews

Being There, Being Here: Palestinian Writings in the World

15 MAY 2022 • By Brett Kline
<em>Being There, Being Here: Palestinian Writings in the World</em>
Opinion

Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together

25 APRIL 2022 • By Rana Salman, Yonatan Gher
Palestinians and Israelis Will Commemorate the Nakba Together
Columns

Green Almonds in Ramallah

15 APRIL 2022 • By Wafa Shami
Green Almonds in Ramallah
Film Reviews

Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s Huda’s Salon

21 MARCH 2022 • By Jordan Elgrably
Palestine in Pieces: Hany Abu-Assad’s <em>Huda’s Salon</em>
Opinion

U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine

21 MARCH 2022 • By Yossi Khen, Jeff Warner
U.S. Sanctions Russia for its Invasion of Ukraine; Now Sanction Israel for its Occupation of Palestine
Essays

Syria Through British Eyes

29 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Rana Haddad
Syria Through British Eyes
Film Reviews

Victims of Discrimination Never Forget in The Forgotten Ones

1 NOVEMBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Victims of Discrimination Never Forget in <em>The Forgotten Ones</em>
Featured excerpt

Memoirs of a Militant, My Years in the Khiam Women’s Prison

15 OCTOBER 2021 • By Nawal Qasim Baidoun
Memoirs of a Militant, My Years in the Khiam Women’s Prison
Film Reviews

Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?

11 OCTOBER 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Will Love Triumph in the Midst of Gaza’s 14-Year Siege?
Weekly

Palestinian Akram Musallam Writes of Loss and Memory

29 AUGUST 2021 • By khulud khamis
Palestinian Akram Musallam Writes of Loss and Memory
Columns

In Flawed Democracies, White Supremacy and Ethnocentrism Flourish

1 AUGUST 2021 • By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat
In Flawed Democracies, White Supremacy and Ethnocentrism Flourish
Weekly

Wafa Shami’s Palestinian Mulukhiyah

25 JULY 2021 • By Wafa Shami
Wafa Shami’s Palestinian Mulukhiyah
Essays

Making a Film in Gaza

14 JULY 2021 • By Elana Golden
Making a Film in Gaza
Essays

Gaza IS Palestine

14 JULY 2021 • By Jenine Abboushi
Gaza IS Palestine
Weekly

The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter

4 JULY 2021 • By Maryam Zar
The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Weekly

A New Book on Music, Palestine-Israel & the “Three State Solution”

28 JUNE 2021 • By Mark LeVine
A New Book on Music, Palestine-Israel & the “Three State Solution”
Columns

The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority

14 JUNE 2021 • By Raja Shehadeh
The Diplomats’ Quarter: Wasta of the Palestinian Authority
Weekly

Palestine in the World: “Palestine: A Socialist Introduction”

6 JUNE 2021 • By Jenine Abboushi
Palestine in the World: “Palestine: A Socialist Introduction”
Book Reviews

The Triumph of Love and the Palestinian Revolution

16 MAY 2021 • By Fouad Mami
Essays

The Wall We Can’t Tell You About

14 MAY 2021 • By Jean Lamore
The Wall We Can’t Tell You About
Book Reviews

The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”

30 DECEMBER 2020 • By Layla AlAmmar
The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”
Centerpiece

The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now

15 NOVEMBER 2020 • By Raja Shehadeh
The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

14 − eight =

Scroll to Top