The Palestinian West Bank

Sunday we had the extraordinary experience of visiting Hebron and a Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem, both in the West Bank. The trip was a long time in the planning but something we aren't likely to forget. We went to Bethlehem (only 20 minutes away) to meet Samer, our Palestinian Christian guide, who drove us first to Hebron to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The conservative Muslim city of Hebron with a population of 166,000 of which 400 are Jewish and 3 are Christians. The Jewish settlers are all in the Old City and each settler is protected by as many as four armed soldiers stationed on rooftops and the streets. Being Palestinian allowed Samer to enter only the Muslim side of the divided Tomb so he visted with some local friends until we met up with him after our visit inside the Jewish portion. The Tomb was divided after 1994 when a settler killed Palestinians while they were in the mosque leading to violent clashes between the two groups.
The Tomb of the Patriarchs is the burial site of Sarah and Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah (Rachel is buried near Bethlehem.) This site is second in importance to Jerusalem's Temple Mount (Muslims) and Western Wall (Jews.)

Tomb of Abraham which can be seen from both Muslim and Jewish sides

Tomb of Jacob which is on the Jewish side

Tomb of Leah also on the Jewish side

The Old City's souq which has seen violent events and is a source of conflict. Above the shops in the souq, you can see the homes of settlers - note the Star of David flying - and as the settlement expands, the Palestinians are being forced to leave the area. Trash is thrown from the apartments onto the souq and the shopkeepers have erected a net to keep the garbage and trash from landing in the shopping areas.

The net to catch the trash.

As we walked through the souq, merchants who knew Samer would come running out with tea or really strong Arabic coffee. Of course to refuse would be offensive to them so we drank our way through to the little hole in the wall restaurant were we had lunch with several of his friends. We just sat and listened to all they had to say and they definitely want people to hear their side of the story. Many families have been in Hebron for a long time and are angry at being displaced by the settlers especially when they are new immigrants to Israel. This group is strongly opposed to Hamas but tried to explain why they are in power and why people support them. One young man that we meet was born near Hebron but now works with Christian Peacemakers Team and lives in Washington, DC, but is back in Hebron as part of an observer program. It was not uncomfortable for us being there as they were very friendly and kind (that Middle East hospitality prevents otherwise) and we sat with them for several hours over tea. Nobody we talked to either in Hebron or at the camp feels a two state solution is viable and although some envision and hope that both sides will someday live together peacefully, they feel it will take generations to overcome the past. What we heard at our next stop made us wonder if that was even a remote possibility.
The sign you first see when entering Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem

We met up with Samer's acquaintance, Hamid, who served us even more tea and we settled back to hear his now familiar story. His grandfather had land that he was forced to leave following the 1948 war of independence and settled in the camp in Bethlehem. Now, 61 years later, the family is still in the camp and there is no hope that they will ever see their land again. The people are not restricted to living in the camp but most stay as they have no other real option. Hamid seemed to be around 20 years old and has grown up in the surroundings of the camp and is very vocal about his outright hatred for the Jews. He was talking about the war in Lebanon and how many soldiers were killed by Hezbollah and came right out and said what a good thing that was and that he wishes it had been more. Larry spoke to him about the rockets coming into Israel from Gaza and again, he felt that was all good and any Israeli deaths as a result was a good thing. He did not want to hear our observations regarding what Hamas is doing in Sderot. We walked through the camp which is now all built up and in pretty good shape - we certainly have seen worse looking accommodations in Jerusalem - but he feels powerless and with little hope. He complained that soldiers can enter the camp and homes at will - breaking down doors and harassing the residents. Of course, the fact they are looking for would-be-martyrs didn't come up in his conversation. In spite of this, he was very pleasant to talk to just very vehement in his convictions. The banner is a picture of a 15 year old "martyr" who was throwing stones at soldiers and who was shot to death. That is the story they are telling but who really knows what provoked the soldiers to fire.
Kids from Dheisheh Refugee Camp

Although the trip was unforgettable, there is no possible way I can make sense out of it. I don't know how people - both Israelis and Palestinians - can live under such constant stress. The Israeli's near Gaza are on anxiety and anti-depressants while the Palestinians seem to be nervous chain smokers. It's hard to keep things straight - who is allowed to go where and who is doing what to whom - even the color of your license plate is relevant. We had to drive to Bethlehem out of Jerusalem in a car with yellow plates to meet Samer at his home to get into his car which has green plates to drive into Hebron and do the reverse to return to Jerusalem that night. Go figure.