Impressions from a visit to Palestine
I found this in my in-tray this am. It was forwarded to me by a colleague of the writer. I have decided to forgo intellectual property concerns in the hope that the author, Julian Gore-Booth is interested in as many people as possible finding out what he observed on his last trip to Palestine.
Impressions from a visit to Palestine
Julian Gore-Booth
November 2005
As this was my first trip to Palestine in over a decade it was clear that a lot of things would have changed. What I was not prepared for was how overwhelmingly this change seems to have been for the worse.
I should emphasise that I did not make it to Gaza, however it seems worth noting down some of what most shocked, saddened and embarrassed me on this return to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Wall – land grab, “fact on the ground”, life changer
Israel’s so called “separation barrier” is monstrous. Now snaking its way into Jerusalem and mostly completed in other parts of the West Bank, this 420 mile grotesque construction is a scar on the face of the Middle East. Aesthetics aside the wall is a political and humanitarian catastrophe that threatens any final negotiated settlement, cuts Jerusalem off from its hinterland, separates farmers from their fields, divides families and provides yet another source of humiliation for the Palestinian people.
In both Jerusalem, Bethlehem and further to the north the wall reaches deep into the heart of the West Bank. Settlement blocks, rather than being part of negotiations, are clearly expected to expand and the route of the wall gives them ample room to do so. On the western axis of the West Bank there are areas where the wall reaches across the green line for no apparent reason other than to expropriate some of the most fertile land that the Palestinians had left and, perhaps even more importantly for the Israelis, the water of the West Bank aquifer which runs close to the surface along much of this area. Add to this the settlements and security installations along the Jordan Valley and a future Palestinian state not only ceases to look viable, it starts to look like a joke.
A drive past Qalqilya on the Israeli side reveals a landscaped garden, palm trees and flowers against what appears to be the steep sided bank of the six lane highway. On the other side the 26 foot high immensity and apparent finality of the wall is revealed, cutting through what used to be Palestinian fields and turning what used to be towns and villages into prisons. I was reminded of apartheid South Africa, only worse. 19 wells have been or will be lost in addition to 3,000 dunams of land (30% of the water and 50% of the city’s agricultural land) Qalqilya is fading before your eyes.
The wall at Qalqilya
Farmers wanting to work their fields can only cross into them with permits and only at strictly designated 15 minute “opening times” early in the morning or late afternoon. Permits once given, are then taken away, as yet another form of punishment. Villages that used to be viable thoroughfares are now silent….. Israelis themselves, including retired Generals from the army, have recognised that the wall is not the way to ensure improved security and have spoken out, and yet the construction persists. Any dogged supporters of the security argument should be reminded that in July Israel withdrew from Gaza returning 19 square miles of territory to the Palestinians to much fanfare and applause, over the same period 23 square miles of the West Bank were sealed off around the settlement of Maale Adumim and nobody squeaked. If the Israelis wanted to build a wall along their side of the Green Line it would still be ugly, but it would not be contrary to international law – however cleverly (all be it thinly) disguised it may be, this wall is about land.
Little wonder that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared the wall illegal, little wonder that a UN resolution supports this ruling…. And little wonder that nothing on the ground, absolutely nothing, is being done by the international community to halt this disaster.
Cantons and Ghettos
With the wall on the one hand and check points, earth barriers and endless permits on the other the Palestinians have been reduced to living in ghettos. Towns have become isolated from each other, groups of villages lumped together and cut off from their markets, with services (such as hospitals) become frustratingly difficult to reach.
All major towns are surrounded by permanent check points. At the entrance to Jerusalem from Ramallah (Kalandia check point) and from Bethlehem (Gilo check point) the scene resembles the grimmest of international borders with queues stretching for hundreds of metres under the watchtowers and concrete slabs of the wall. Little wonder that it takes so many Palestinians three or four hours to reach their work. Crossing north into Nablus the scenes are the same to the extent that the West Bank is now divided into at least 5 areas (Jerusalem, Ramallah area, the north, Bethlehem area, the south) with movement between the regions easy for settlers and internationals, but frustratingly difficult for Palestinians.
Jerusalem
The most famous of the newly created ghettos is Palestinian Jerusalem, and it is perhaps here that the signs are the most sinister. West Bankers can no longer come into the city without endless permits and check points and Jerusalemites are cut off from their hinterland. With the Palestinian Authority jaded, excluded and ineffective in Ramallah, with Orient House now closed, Palestinians in Jerusalem feel increasingly isolated and increasingly desperate. Some are turning to Israel as their “saviour” since they have nowhere else to go, others are ignoring what is happening around them and just trying to make money, few are able or inclined to fight for the wider issue of Palestine. Israel’s policy is working.
From 1992-1994 I lived in 2 flats in East Jerusalem about 100 metres apart, both felt very much part of the same city. One of these is now inside Jerusalem, the other, in Abu Dis, is now cut off from Jerusalem in the West Bank. Shops and families that I used to visit by crossing the road are now cut off from each other, old men who have prayed at Al Aqsa all their lives can no longer do so, children cannot reach their schools, the list goes on. The wall reaches into the town and is set to cut off Shufat refugee camp (refugees from the Old City) and plans are afoot to move more Palestinians out of the old city and surrounding areas.
It is well documented how over time Israel has used the policies of expropriation and “town planning” to reduce the size of the Jerusalem land area available for use by Palestinians. Contrary to UN Security Council resolutions 242, 249 and 278 the Israeli government has redrawn the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem to include “Jordanian” Jerusalem. Their intentions have been made clear by the rise of house demolitions, the application of absentee laws and the construction of the wall, and now, most sinisterly of all the publication of an Israeli Town Planning Scheme (TPS 2000) that sets out a “mandatory” map for land use and planning purposes until the year 2020. The plan incorporates occupied East Jerusalem and maps out clear plans for further reducing the Palestinian population, “thinning out” the Old City (moving these people to Shufat and thereby placing them outside the wall) and denying thousands of Jerusalemites access to their hospitals, holy places, families etc. The wall itself means that almost 50,000 Palestinians from Jerusalem will be cut off from the city, TPS 2000 looks set to reinforce and expand the same goal and deny the Palestinians their right of establishing a state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
Given this gradual suffocation it seems increasingly important that the donor community supports NGOs that are Jerusalem based not only in response to the humanitarian imperative, but also because of the advocacy role that they are required to fill given the absence of any other coordinated Palestinian voice re Jerusalem (made noticeably worse since the death of Faisal Husseini).
The Arafat Factor
Whether you liked him or not there is clearly a feeling amongst Palestinians that with Arafat gone the world is ever more able to ignore their plight. The Palestinians are increasingly factionalised rendering the PA ever more ineffectual, Gaza struggles together with “the quartet” (led by a deeply frustrated Wolfensohn) just to be able to export its strawberries, remove the rubble of settlements or get some control of a border with Egypt and Hilary Clinton visits Israel without meeting the Palestinian side. With Israeli politics now changing the Palestinians need their Mandela… none appears to be on the horizon.
Conclusion
As an international I waltzed through the check points, pretended I was a tourist or simply waved my passport at incredulous soldiers. As an international I got on a plane and came home. As an international I am embarrassed and ashamed.
Julian Gore-Booth
21/11/05
Impressions from a visit to Palestine
Julian Gore-Booth
November 2005
As this was my first trip to Palestine in over a decade it was clear that a lot of things would have changed. What I was not prepared for was how overwhelmingly this change seems to have been for the worse.
I should emphasise that I did not make it to Gaza, however it seems worth noting down some of what most shocked, saddened and embarrassed me on this return to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The Wall – land grab, “fact on the ground”, life changer
Israel’s so called “separation barrier” is monstrous. Now snaking its way into Jerusalem and mostly completed in other parts of the West Bank, this 420 mile grotesque construction is a scar on the face of the Middle East. Aesthetics aside the wall is a political and humanitarian catastrophe that threatens any final negotiated settlement, cuts Jerusalem off from its hinterland, separates farmers from their fields, divides families and provides yet another source of humiliation for the Palestinian people.
In both Jerusalem, Bethlehem and further to the north the wall reaches deep into the heart of the West Bank. Settlement blocks, rather than being part of negotiations, are clearly expected to expand and the route of the wall gives them ample room to do so. On the western axis of the West Bank there are areas where the wall reaches across the green line for no apparent reason other than to expropriate some of the most fertile land that the Palestinians had left and, perhaps even more importantly for the Israelis, the water of the West Bank aquifer which runs close to the surface along much of this area. Add to this the settlements and security installations along the Jordan Valley and a future Palestinian state not only ceases to look viable, it starts to look like a joke.
A drive past Qalqilya on the Israeli side reveals a landscaped garden, palm trees and flowers against what appears to be the steep sided bank of the six lane highway. On the other side the 26 foot high immensity and apparent finality of the wall is revealed, cutting through what used to be Palestinian fields and turning what used to be towns and villages into prisons. I was reminded of apartheid South Africa, only worse. 19 wells have been or will be lost in addition to 3,000 dunams of land (30% of the water and 50% of the city’s agricultural land) Qalqilya is fading before your eyes.
The wall at Qalqilya
Farmers wanting to work their fields can only cross into them with permits and only at strictly designated 15 minute “opening times” early in the morning or late afternoon. Permits once given, are then taken away, as yet another form of punishment. Villages that used to be viable thoroughfares are now silent….. Israelis themselves, including retired Generals from the army, have recognised that the wall is not the way to ensure improved security and have spoken out, and yet the construction persists. Any dogged supporters of the security argument should be reminded that in July Israel withdrew from Gaza returning 19 square miles of territory to the Palestinians to much fanfare and applause, over the same period 23 square miles of the West Bank were sealed off around the settlement of Maale Adumim and nobody squeaked. If the Israelis wanted to build a wall along their side of the Green Line it would still be ugly, but it would not be contrary to international law – however cleverly (all be it thinly) disguised it may be, this wall is about land.
Little wonder that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared the wall illegal, little wonder that a UN resolution supports this ruling…. And little wonder that nothing on the ground, absolutely nothing, is being done by the international community to halt this disaster.
Cantons and Ghettos
With the wall on the one hand and check points, earth barriers and endless permits on the other the Palestinians have been reduced to living in ghettos. Towns have become isolated from each other, groups of villages lumped together and cut off from their markets, with services (such as hospitals) become frustratingly difficult to reach.
All major towns are surrounded by permanent check points. At the entrance to Jerusalem from Ramallah (Kalandia check point) and from Bethlehem (Gilo check point) the scene resembles the grimmest of international borders with queues stretching for hundreds of metres under the watchtowers and concrete slabs of the wall. Little wonder that it takes so many Palestinians three or four hours to reach their work. Crossing north into Nablus the scenes are the same to the extent that the West Bank is now divided into at least 5 areas (Jerusalem, Ramallah area, the north, Bethlehem area, the south) with movement between the regions easy for settlers and internationals, but frustratingly difficult for Palestinians.
Jerusalem
The most famous of the newly created ghettos is Palestinian Jerusalem, and it is perhaps here that the signs are the most sinister. West Bankers can no longer come into the city without endless permits and check points and Jerusalemites are cut off from their hinterland. With the Palestinian Authority jaded, excluded and ineffective in Ramallah, with Orient House now closed, Palestinians in Jerusalem feel increasingly isolated and increasingly desperate. Some are turning to Israel as their “saviour” since they have nowhere else to go, others are ignoring what is happening around them and just trying to make money, few are able or inclined to fight for the wider issue of Palestine. Israel’s policy is working.
From 1992-1994 I lived in 2 flats in East Jerusalem about 100 metres apart, both felt very much part of the same city. One of these is now inside Jerusalem, the other, in Abu Dis, is now cut off from Jerusalem in the West Bank. Shops and families that I used to visit by crossing the road are now cut off from each other, old men who have prayed at Al Aqsa all their lives can no longer do so, children cannot reach their schools, the list goes on. The wall reaches into the town and is set to cut off Shufat refugee camp (refugees from the Old City) and plans are afoot to move more Palestinians out of the old city and surrounding areas.
It is well documented how over time Israel has used the policies of expropriation and “town planning” to reduce the size of the Jerusalem land area available for use by Palestinians. Contrary to UN Security Council resolutions 242, 249 and 278 the Israeli government has redrawn the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem to include “Jordanian” Jerusalem. Their intentions have been made clear by the rise of house demolitions, the application of absentee laws and the construction of the wall, and now, most sinisterly of all the publication of an Israeli Town Planning Scheme (TPS 2000) that sets out a “mandatory” map for land use and planning purposes until the year 2020. The plan incorporates occupied East Jerusalem and maps out clear plans for further reducing the Palestinian population, “thinning out” the Old City (moving these people to Shufat and thereby placing them outside the wall) and denying thousands of Jerusalemites access to their hospitals, holy places, families etc. The wall itself means that almost 50,000 Palestinians from Jerusalem will be cut off from the city, TPS 2000 looks set to reinforce and expand the same goal and deny the Palestinians their right of establishing a state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
Given this gradual suffocation it seems increasingly important that the donor community supports NGOs that are Jerusalem based not only in response to the humanitarian imperative, but also because of the advocacy role that they are required to fill given the absence of any other coordinated Palestinian voice re Jerusalem (made noticeably worse since the death of Faisal Husseini).
The Arafat Factor
Whether you liked him or not there is clearly a feeling amongst Palestinians that with Arafat gone the world is ever more able to ignore their plight. The Palestinians are increasingly factionalised rendering the PA ever more ineffectual, Gaza struggles together with “the quartet” (led by a deeply frustrated Wolfensohn) just to be able to export its strawberries, remove the rubble of settlements or get some control of a border with Egypt and Hilary Clinton visits Israel without meeting the Palestinian side. With Israeli politics now changing the Palestinians need their Mandela… none appears to be on the horizon.
Conclusion
As an international I waltzed through the check points, pretended I was a tourist or simply waved my passport at incredulous soldiers. As an international I got on a plane and came home. As an international I am embarrassed and ashamed.
Julian Gore-Booth
21/11/05
posted by not xtian at 4:33 PM
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