Arrival in the West Bank
by gracedaisy
The atmosphere in the West Bank, is considerably less tense than when I was last here. Understandable considering the amount of deaths that had just occurred as part of Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead” which took place in December and January of last year. Today, coach loads of tourists pass from hotels in Bethlehem, through the check-point and back into Israel, and shops and traders carry about their business. You could almost be forgiven for taking the seemingly bustling streets of Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour as an indication of calm and security in this small area of the West Bank, but the little indications of what lies beneath are everywhere.
We travelled through the land border between Jordan and Israel, and were “processed” by a group of giggling, teenage girls with perfect hair and heavily applied make-up. They laughed their way through the whole ordeal, explaining to us that one of them was new to the job, and feeding her the questions she should ask – “why are you travelling to Israel? Who are you staying with? What are their names? When will you return to Jordan?” They were fairly ordinary questions but it was clear that their lack of experience meant we got a lighter treatment than we may have otherwise. A Jordanian woman who was beside us, and was travelling to Ramallah to visit a sick aunt, got a less friendly approach and was questioned much more rigorously. It all would have seemed harmless enough if the girls in question weren’t members of the Israeli “Defence” forces, carrying M16s and in positions which allowed them to take decisions over people’s basic freedom of movement.
Once we passed through I searched for a bus “without yellow plates” as my friend had instructed me, as these buses go through Jerusalem, but we were repeatedly shepherded away from the buses going towards the West Bank by Israeli security personnel, in a friendly but firm manner. So we began the journey, by Service taxi to East Jerusalem, and from there on the 21 bus to Beit Jala, which circumnavigates the outskirts of East Jerusalem, and picked up many of the Palestinians en route back to the West Bank, perhaps after a day working in Israel. This is my preferred route to take into the West Bank, as you are travelling with ordinary Palestinians going about their days, and avoid the trip through the main checkpoint to Bethlehem, which incorporates entering through the wall, and a number of security detectors and checks. Although for internationals, there is minimal hassle at this checkpoint, it always leaves me with a heavy feeling of sadness, watching the locals navigate their way through humiliating questioning, or the incidents of male teenagers with M16s ridiculing and mocking young Muslim women.
Beyond that, it’s a straightforward run by taxi or service to the building where we are staying for the duration of our time in the West Bank. Some local taxi drivers haggle for our custom, but we go with a local man in an old wreck of a car, and invite another young man, who is headed in the same direction to join us. He tells me he is American, though I later find out he is Israeli, and is interested in some of the permaculture projects going on in the territories. It’s not uncommon for young Israeli’s to enter the territories, to find out more about the situation, to protest or to take part in solidarity actions with Palestinians. However, as it is illegal for Israeli’s to enter zone A areas (areas designated to be under the control of the Palestinian Authority as a result of the Oslo Accords II), that is the cities of the West Bank, many do not take the chance of arrest, and many believe it is unsafe to do so.
Within the first few hours back in Beit Sahour, apart from meeting with some familiar faces, and settling into my home for the coming weeks, I was reminded of why it was such an easy place to feel relaxed and comfortable in. The locals, despite the fact that they would see at least a reasonable proportion of foreigners in the town, take the time to welcome you at every opportunity. Walking for ten minutes through the streets, induces many greetings, welcomes, exchanges of basic information and offers of tea or coffee. Beit Sahour is a predominantly Christian town, with 75% of the population belonging to one of the various Christian faiths, which counts as the largest Christian population of any town in the West Bank and Gaza. The streets are already lined with Christmas lights, many of the houses are lit all year round with stars on their roofs, and there are numerous churches in the small town centre. From an outsiders perspective at least, this does not seem to be to the detriment of the smaller minority Muslim population, who mix and live among the Christian population and are catered for with a number of mosques in the area. The openness and willingness of the locals to engage in conversations on politics, world affairs, travel and speak a good level of English, is perhaps a result of the fact that it also one of the towns with the highest number of university educated people in Palestine, and in fact the Arab world. It is also an interesting hub of activity for internationals and activists with the International Middle East Media Centre, the Alternative Information Centre, the Alternative Tourism Group, the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the YMCA, the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People and many more interesting and innovative projects and initiatives providing in depth information and informative activities for internationals and locals alike to engage with and understand better the political reality of this region.
The Cafe at the Alternative Information Centre is a great example of this. Its run by local Palestinians and international volunteers alike and they host regular talks, concerts, events and activities as well as act as an information point for those interested in the occupation. In the past week I listened to Sandy Tolan, and American historian and journalist, speak about his experience of writing “The Lemon Tree” in which he traced the unlikely story of a meeting and reconciliation of sorts between the off-spring of a Palestinian family living in Ramallah, who had been forcibly removed from their home in Ramleh in 1948, and the Israeli Jewish family which had originally escaped persecution in Romania only to settle in that home. It was a fascinating account of duplicated histories, the complexity of narrative in this conflict, and the victims that can emerge on all sides. Just a few nights ago, we also listened to a number of young students from Haifa University, speak about their experiences of persecution, prejudice and outright discrimination on the part of the university authorities towards Palestinian students. These Palestinians, or ’48 Palestinians, as they are known, having remained in the historical territory of Palestine after the nakba or catastrophe of 1948 (also known as the war of independence in Israel, and the Arab-Israeli war in international lingo), are citizens of Israel in theory, but find themselves being treated as sub-citizens on many levels by Israeli society, and simultaneously being denied the chance to coherently adopt their Palestinian identity as the ones who pay Israeli taxes and have the freedom of movement (at least to some degree) that their fellow Palestinians do not have in the West Bank and Gaza. They are also denied the opportunity to study in Arab universities, for fear of persecution, and cannot meet or organise any kind of cultural or political activities with other Palestinians from the territories without severe pressure and sometimes arrest in Israel. The café allows for local Palestinian students to engage and share their experiences with internationals, while also giving the chance for such dialogue and information sessions to happen, as well as an important social hub for internationals in Beit Sahour.
Beit Sahours other big draw, for those who value such things, is its proximity to the Shepherd’s Fields, or the site where it is claimed that the shepherds watched their flocks by night, when the angel Gabriel appeared to announce to birth of the messiah. There is as a result some tourist presence in the area, but it really is minimal considering its one of the most important sites in Christian narratives. For the most part, as with all tourism to the West Bank, tourists come in large coaches, are shuttled from Israel to certain locations for a fixed and short duration of time, and perhaps allowed a ramble in a predetermined souvenir shop (often with a hefty commission fee for the Israeli tour company in question) and ferried back to the far side of the wall. It’s really only the more independent travellers that actually venture this far, and experience the full extent of the warmth of the Palestinians, and the implications of the occupation on their daily lives. I spoke with many shop owners in the centre of Bethlehem who also spoke of this phenomena and the impact it’s having on their livelihood. Tourism was once the biggest industry for Palestinians in this area, but is year by year decreasing, as Israeli and foreign companies monopolise the market and a few selected local business men profit. Although I hate to see any nation put too many of its eggs in the basket of tourism, it really is an important element and yet another side to the occupation and the profiteering that takes place at the cost of Palestinians. For now Beit Sahour survives, but with the construction of what has been called “New Bethlehem” and the ever increasing monopolisation of the market, it’s unclear if this will be the case in for much longer.
