bio: Sarah is a local university student and activist. She has traveled in the Middle East before and plans to organize around the Palestinian cause at home and abroad upon her return.

July 27, 2006 - Moving Through Checkpoints
July 26, 2006 - Encountering Settlers
July 25, 2006 - Condoleezza in Ramallah
July 24, 2006 - Restriction of Movement

Thursday, July 27, 2006 - Moving Through Checkpoints

I went alone today from Hares to Ramallah.  I waited at Hares for 45 minutes before catching a van to Zaatar.  There was a long line for cars, so a bunch of us tried to walk through the checkpoint.  The soldiers were not letting people walk through, so we got in a car that was number three in line.  The guy was nice enough to let us sit in his car as he drove through.  When we got to the checkpoint, the soldiers took our IDs.  When they noticed the American passport, they came to me and asked me what I was doing here.  I told them I was traveling.  They persisted in antagonizing me and said, "You know, it's dangerous here with the terrorists".  I ignored them, looking straight ahead, refusing to engage them.  They kept our IDs for probably 15 minutes.  On the other side of the checkpoint, we all got out of the car and stood to wait for taxis. At this particular spot there are about six meters of railing along the road, a little bus-stop-like structure for soldiers to hang out in, and then another ten meters or so of railing.  We were standing and leaning on the rail between the checkpoint and the small structure when a soldier (a soldier who IWPS members have had trouble with before) came over and started yelling at us in Hebrew.  A Palestinian man I was standing with said, "I don't speak Hebrew, do you speak English?" This seemed to only antagonized the soldier and he made hand gestures that we should move to the other side of their shelter. Once we moved to the other side, one of the Palestinian men was apparently still too close to where the soldiers were. The same soldier came over and started yelling at him again. From the translation I received, the transaction went something like this:
Soldier: "I hate you and want to kill you."
Palestinian: "I feel the same about you."
Soldier: "You know, when our children are young, we teach them well so that when they grow up and become men they will hate you and want to kill you."

Throughout the interaction the soldier was grabbing the man's arm and trying to pull him into the shelter while two other Palestinian men tried to calm them down and get the whole thing deescalated.  Finally, the soldier took the man's ID, called in the number, an act which I imagine could have many consequences later on.

Soon a car came, saying it would go to Qalandia. Once we got to Qalandia there was a very long line.  One man got out to walk and the rest of us stayed in the car to go around another way.  We ended up going back north and around the top of Ramallah, through Bet El checkpoint, near Beir Zeit University.  This all took about another hour.  Once we passed, though, the whole atmosphere in the car changed. Everyone took off their seat belts, relaxed, a tension cleared from the air, and the men started chatting about things that were not Israel, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Nusrallah, Gaza, America , and al-jeish (military).

When I realized I would have to make this commute three times, I was sort of interested to see how it would be from day to day. But, in reality I found it increasingly confusing, stressful, and aggravating. Again, this is the reason why many Palestinians do not travel anymore. Unfortunately, things like banks, stores, entertainment, hospitals/clinics, and other things are only in cities like Ramallah, so people from villages must travel to carry out their business.  Each time they travel this maze of anxiety and frustration awaits them.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - Encountering Settlers

Yesterday Claire and I were observing a flying checkpoint outside our small village of Hares, which is surrounded on all four sides by Israeli settlements.  We had asked the soldier on guard what was going on and he told us they were having some problems and were stopping everyone, "Palestinians and Jews".  As traffic started to be allowed to move again, after maybe 15 minutes he told us there had been a suicide bombing attempt in Ariel (the biggest settlement in the West Bank), which is very nearby.  As the whole intersection was freed and things were moving smoothly we turned to head back home.  Before we knew what was happening there was a 50-ish year old man standing in my face, screaming and trying to spit on us. Perhaps out of an instinctive fear for my safety I pulled my sleeve over my Palestine bracelet and tucked my necklace into my shirt. This man was seriously rabid.  As he shouted in Hebrew, I tried to ask him what he wanted. He just mimicked me and made motions that we should leave.  He then lurched forward toward us.  I very much feel that had the Israeli soldier that we had been talking to not grabbed him and held him back this man would have not had a problem seriously injuring the two of us. I couldn't understand most of what he said, because it was in Hebrew, but I did catch "Communistas" and "Sharmoot" which I was later reminded means "Whore".

I have seen some decently scary things since I've been here.  I've had guns repeatedly pointed at the vehicle I was in.  I've been mobbed by settler children and then yelled at by their parents.  I've been told by soldiers to go to Tel Aviv. I've been told that Ramallah is terroristic. I've walked past settlers in Tel Rumeida not knowing if they would decide to stone us or the nearby children. But this man, this fragile, old, ridiculous man, is by far the scariest individual I have encountered thus far.

Mourid Barghouti writes in his book, I Saw Ramallah, "The weave of the carpet is the settlements". He also writes, "all we have heard and read about the settlements, all this is nothing.  You have to see them for yourself. ... Are they afraid of us, or is it us who are afraid? If you hear a speaker on some platform use the phrase 'dismantling the settlements' then laugh to your heart's content.  These are not children's fortresses of Lego or Meccano.  These are Israel itself; Israel the idea and the ideology and the geography and trick and the excuse. It is the place that is ours that they have made theirs. The settlements are their book, their first form."

And Mourid Barghouti is right, the settlements are the most difficult obstacle to peace and settlers are the most fundamental Israelis. As hard as I try, and generally fail, to understand the mentality of Israeli soldiers, this old settler succeeded in, for the first time, making me happy that there was an Israeli soldier there. Unfortunately, Claire and I being young white females most definitely played a role in the soldier's decision to step in.  Had we been young Palestinian men this encounter most likely would have ended differently.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - Condoleezza in Ramallah

The other day I traveled Ramallah with the intention of cashing some traveler's checks. Surprisingly, I ended the day having lunch at the Fatah movement's office.

As most of you are probably aware, Condoleezza Rice was in Ramallah to meet with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In protest of her being here, though, there was a general strike throughout the city (this means no banks or pretty much anything else).  So instead of just heading out of town, and back to Hares, without caching my checks, I stopped by the ISM office.  Upon entering I couldn't help but notice the thirty plus people standing around with signs and flags.  So I picked up a sign and headed out into the streets with the group of Palestinians and Internationals.  I carried a sign that read "Go back to your democracy (crossed out democracy) hypocrisy, Condi". My favorite signs included one with an American flag and that statement "Absolutely ashamed of my government" and "If segregation was not okay for you, why is it for us?".

We walked for probably 45 minutes with hundreds of people,  probably 80% Palestinian and 20% international.  There was about a two-minute stint of violence from both the crowd and the Palestinian police and military, but all in all it was generally peaceful.  At one point someone pointed out, "Because we have two occupying authorities we have to go another way" and it seemed sort of true to me.  While the PA guards were not as violent and as the Israeli soldiers seem to be, they were definitely working to control a protest that they most likely agreed with the politics of. They seemed sort of sheepish to me at the time, like they were helping the Israelis and Americans protect someone they despised. But at some point I realized that for them it is not about politics.  It is about protecting the wellbeing of their own people. However, there were Palestinian ISMers on either side of the argument.  One man said, "I saw no difference between them and the Israeli soldiers" and another replied "but these are here for our protection, they are friends and family".

At the end of the protest the ISM organizers rounded us up and surprised us with lunch at the main Fatah office.  We were welcomed by a head member of the Legislative Council and fed a nice meal.  Leaving direct action to have ISM meet with Fatah raised some internal issues and debate.  There are a lot of ISM members who don't believe in Fatah's adherence to working toward an increasingly impossible two-state solution and their general acceptance of Israeli/American terms of engagement, among other issues.  But personally it was interesting to be in Fatah's office.  Despite not agreeing with the politics of the party and the whole experience being drenched in political rhetoric (of course), I'm very glad that I went. All in all, a pretty educational day, I must say.

Monday, July 24, 2006 - Restriction of Movement

Greetings from Palestine!  Things are going well here. Despite horrible conditions people here persevere with a beautiful spirit.

One aspect of the conditions of daily life here is restriction of movement.  I hadn't felt this too much until the past two days.  Although our group had gone through checkpoints before, it was quite different from what I see now.

A small group of us spent yesterday and last night in the northern city of Jenin.  On our way back to our friends' place after a long day, we drove past two military jeeps with no soldiers visible. After a moment, about seven soldiers jumped out and, surrounding our van, pointed their M-16s at us. They ordered us to stop and go back the way we came.  Our host, Mahmoud (name changed to protect the innocent) responded with "But our house is right there!" and pointed up the block.  Regardless, to reach the apartment, we would have to spend an extra 45 minutes taking a much longer way around.

As we sat up that night eating fruit, pita, hummus, and drinking nectar, Mahmoud shared with us some amazing stories of his life under occupation, in particular living in his village under 24 hour curfew. Mahmoud is only 22 years old but has developed an astounding sense of the world, and while he doesn't condemn armed resistance, he himself is able to abstain from it. The more time I spend here, the more I wish for people to understand that the Palestinians have both a right to, and a justification for, legitimate armed resistance.  It is the treatment of Palestinian children and young adults by the Israeli military that breeds fighters. When a child is beaten by a man in full military garb for a reason unknown to that child (or to anyone else) it becomes clear from where the hatred and frustration grow.

This morning in Jenin we got into a taxi for our journey back south. Together we were three American women, Mahmoud, the driver and three other Palestinian men. We drove around for two hours being turned back from every route known to Mahmoud and the driver.  At one point I was forced to open all the bags (regardless of whose they were) for the viewing pleasure of one soldier, all the while being asked "Why don't you just go to Tel Aviv? Tel Aviv no good?" and told "Leave Jenin, Ramallah closed!"

Finally, we found a way via dirt paths (these were not even roads) cris-crossing fields, climbing car-damaging hills, and swerving around trees, to the Zataar checkpoint, where a long line of cars was waiting.  We sat for another 15 minutes, until the soldiers (all of whom looked to be about 18 years old) approached our taxi and checked our Ids. They called for Mahmoud to exit the vehicle.  We were told that Palestinian men between the ages of 16 and 28 were not allowed to pass.

At first I refused to continue without Mahmoud and, scowling at the soldiers, I tried to get him to let me help.  But he didn't want me to get involved.  When I talked to him about three hours later, I was happy to hear that he had made it to Ramallah, but unfortunately had to go back through Nablus, climbing hills and trudging through the forest, to get there.

This is the life Palestinians live day in and day out.  There is a total sense of unpredictability and humiliation.  Israeli soldiers treat the roads like their private property, letting people through only when they feel like it. Because of this, there is an increasing number of Palestinians who simply do not travel. Commerce is becoming increasingly local, families are not visiting each other over even modest distances, and students are missing classes and exams.

Sadly, this has become part of the general understanding of "that's just how life is here."  While a lot of people are resisting, it appears that many are not.  But, in a way, simply to exist in the West Bank is to resist. Of course, the reality is that life should not be like this for anyone.  

This is no longer about Palestinian and Israelis, or about who was here first and who last. It is not even about politics anymore.  It is about humanity and the right of every person to live without constant fear of being humiliated (at best) or shot (at worst).