First signs of losing land

The wall around al-Walaja, which will extend to cut off Cremisan.

As the plan to build the separation wall continues, more and more signs of this process are ravaging the lands of Cremisan and the Makhrour valley, just outside of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. Demolitions, uprooting of olive trees, and wall construction are increasing at a rapid pace, as these plans become increasingly a reality, and Bethlehem faces losing its last green space. Wall construction in this area has been going on for at least a year, and in the last month al-Makhrour valley is under threat.

The wall is ever-expanding around the village of al-Walaja, discreetly built behind trees, so that the residents in the neighborhood in Gilo cannot see what is happening on the other side.  Between the Cremisan monastery and the Salesian Sisters of Cremisan school, barbed wire is being set up, marking the line of the wall, that will soon cut off the Salesian Sisters from the monks at Cremisan winery.
(See this post for more pictures).

Map c/o BBC

Not only will the wall cut Bethlehem from a monastery that has been part of their Christian heritage and the wine that they frequently buy, it will also cut of Bethlehem and Beit Jala's last green space.  As part of the planned wall expansion, the Makhrour valley, another green area enjoyed by Bethlehem residents and home to 57 Christian families agricultural land, will also be cut off.

On April 3, the first signs of al-Makrours fate were seen.  The Israeli military came into Makhrour and quickly demolished a residential structure as well as the electricity grid erected by the Bethlehem municipality.  (A video and article about the incident).

Today, the al-Makhrour restaurant, built by a family whose home had been demolished by the Israeli military in this area, was completely demolished.


The Israeli military claims that these structures were built without permits.  But in Area C, the area under full Israeli control, permits are nearly impossible to get.

Demolition of al-Makhrour restaurant. Photo c/o http://yfrog.com/ob9a4uhtj.

The Israeli military spokesman claims that the planned construction for the wall is primarily for security reasons, saying: "The rout of the security barrier is based on the specific security considerations of the area. In the Beit Jala region, it is there solely to keep terror out of Jerusalem." (See BBC's recent article).

He noted the violence occurring between Beit Jala and Gilo 10 years ago, during the 2nd Intifada.  With no acts of violence occurring, however, in the past 10 years, and with the separation barriers deep cutting into the West Bank behind the green line, security concerns are highly questionable.

I, myself, spend my weekends walking and picnicking in Cremisan and Makhrour, and ask the question: Is security a justifiable reason to cut people off from their agricultural lands, schools, monasteries, and a place of respite?

Natural Springs...Then why don't we have enough water?

 In an effort to enjoy the lovely Spring weather in Palestine and also to explore the natural areas surrounding Bethlehem, my fiance and I have gone on several hikes in the past month or two.  One of the delightful surprises for me on these trips was the discovery of natural springs in the villages surrounding Bethlehem. These trips, however, also carried with them the realization of the intricacies of the injustices of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, especially in the issue of water collection and distribution.

 After hiking through Wadi (Valley) Makhrour, we ended our hike in the village of Battir.  At the center of this village is a natural spring. After a long hike, we were able to fill our bottles and enjoy the fresh taste of natural spring water.  

On another hike, we stopped in the middle for a rest near a natural spring just down the hill from the village of al-Walaja.  This spring flows from a waterfall and eventually fills a pool with its clear, pure water. 

On the one hand, we enjoyed these natural wonders, while on the other hand being confronted with the injustices of Israeli occupation.  Although Battir's spring is overflowing, Palestinians are not allowed to build any structures in order to collect this water.  Instead, the must allow it to flow to the valley, to aquifers, from which the Israeli authorities will collect this water, and then sell it back to Palestinians for expensive prices.  The same goes for the spring that lies just outside the village of al-Walaja.  Near this spring, two water pumps are found, which pump the water from the spring.  The towers of Mekorot, the Israeli water company, which collects this water and subsequently sells it to both Israelis and Palestinians, can be seen from this hike in the nearby settlement of Gilo.

Battir's spring is overflowing with water after this year's abundant amount of rain.

The Oslo Agreements left several "core issues" to be settled in any final status agreements.  These issues include Jerusalem, security, refugees, borders, water and settlements; issues that have yet to be settled to this day.  In an attempt to address the issue of water, the Oslo Agreements set up the Joint Water Committee (JWC) within which Palestinians and Israelis were to work together on the issue of water.  Not only does the JWC give Israel veto power to any plans to build structures to collect water, the JWC has not been effective in managing water resources.  Until the Second Intifada, the JWC met frequently, up to 10 times per year.  According to a 2009 World Bank report, since 2002 the frequency with which the JWC met dropped to up to 3 times per year, with only one meeting in 2008.  Clearly, with the lack of meetings of the JWC in the past 10 years, Israelis and Palestinians are not effectively cooperating in the distribution of water.

Al-walaja's spring.

As a result of any lack of discussion on the issues of water, the Israeli occupation controls most Palestinian water sources. With the addition of the building of the separation barrier, 194 Palestinian wells and 85 Palestinian springs are cut off from use by Palestinians.  Even the spring in al-Walaja is currently being cut off from this community by the rapidly building of the separation barrier.  Not only will the water be controlled and taken by the Israeli authorities, but this area will not longer be a place for picnics and family outings as we witnessed on the day we were there.

As we walked back up the hill toward al-Walaja, we passed the construction of the Separation Barrier, which will completely cut of al-Walaja from its spring, its farmland, and the neighboring community of Beit Jala.

Moreover, the use of water between Israelis and Palestinians is drastically imbalanced.  The average Israeli uses 4 to 5 times more water than that of the average Palestinian.  A 2011 B'tselem report showed that the use of water in Israeli settlements compared with nearby Palestinian villages was approximately 400 l/c/d (litres/capita/day) to 20 or 80 l/c/d (depending on the village).  In some places, that is 8 to 9 times the use of water.  Furthermore, the Israeli company of Mekorot sells water to settlement farmers at subsidized prices, whereas the average Palestinian household pays between 5% to 40% of their monthly income on water.

"Nicely" leveled land to make way for the path of the separation barrier.

Resources
ARIJ's (The Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem) for The Status of the Environment in the oPt (occupied Palestinian territories), 2011
Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development an April 2009 World Bank Report.
Walking Palestine by Stefan Szepesi

Lovely...and Ugly

I seem to have gotten in a rut of not posting.  I'm sure busyness was the culprit at first, and then laziness.  But now I'm back and ready to commit to posting once a week again.

Although it is still raining in Israel/Palestine, and even there are threats of snow this weekend, we are the point of the winter where we periodically have days of lovely weather.  A few weeks ago, the weather was perfect for a walk in the hills of Cremisan.

The sun was out and the sights were perfect.  It was a well-needed break from being in cities.  Here are a few shots from the day:

Land near Cremisan monastery and winery.  All of this land will soon be confiscated by the separation wall and there will be no green space left in Bethlehem.

Cremisan monastery from a distance.

The first almond trees are in bloom.  It's the start to the prettiest time of year.

I love these poppies (or they look like them anyway) during the spring.

It was amazing to see the trees in bloom, the hills, and the flowers.  As always, however, there were constant signs of occupation.

The bridge of Road 60 which connects settlers to their settlements in the West Bank and cuts of Beit Jala from most of its land and Jerusalem. I travel this road everyday on the bus to school.

Barbed wire is everywhere.

Our trip ended in al-Walaja, a village which will be completely surrounded by the wall and only connected to Bethlehem through one small opening at one end of the village.  This house is the only house in al-Walaja that is located on the Israeli side of the wall.

This is construction of a tunnel that will allow the family on the Israeli side of the wall get to there family and friends in al-Walaja.

Instead of rerouting the separation wall to the internationally recognized Green Line  or even 50 meters, the Israeli government has decided to spend an extra $800,000 simply to build a tunnel for this family to get to al-Walaja.  Talk about stupid! 

Construction of the wall is expanding in al-Walaja even as we speak.

More wall construction coming from the opposite direction.

Just behind the lone house, you can see the Israeli settlement of Gilo.  Most claim that Gilo is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, and living in Jerusalem, it seems like it is part of the city.  But this "neighborhood" is what has caused Bethlehem and Beit Jala so much loss of land.

The view of the wall construction from the streets of al-Walaja.  This is just how close  it comes, and  how little land it lives the villagers.

Living in Bethlehem, I didn't even know about the details of construction of the wall around al-Walaja, and especially the ridiculous tunnel that is being built.  Is the wall built for security? Security does not merit the winding way the wall cuts through the West Bank and cuts off even single families from their communities and livelihood. With evidence of this tunnel staring us in the face, the reason of "security" for the building of the wall is clearly just an excuse.

How Human Are You?

Last year, on one of the last days of a class on Collective Memory in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, we watched a film in which the director takes a Palestinian family to see a photo album from their grandfather, that was confiscated during the 1967 war and was found at the Israel Defense Force archive. In order to take this trip, the director of the film needed to wind his way through Israeli bureaucracy in order to obtain the appropriate permits for the son of the family living in Abu Dis, behind the Israeli separation wall.

C/o holylandshots.com

Following the film, asked questions in order to clarify their confusion about this permit system.  I was surprised and shocked by these questions.  As students of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies, living in Israel/Palestine, only 1 kilometer from the separation wall, and after taking a class about the Palestinian Israel conflict for an entire semester, these students did not even know about one of the most basic institutions of the Israeli occupation that dominates the lives of all Palestinians.  This system of bureaucracy, creates an intricate web of distinction determining how human each person is, depending on where they live, for whom they work, and who their parents are?

Identity cards for Palestinians are classified into two categories: blue and green identity cards.  Blue ID cards are granted to Palestinians living in Jerusalem.  This ID cards allow the holder freedom of movement to wherever they please.  Blue ID holders can travel in and out of Jerusalem and the West Bank as they wish.  They can also travel through any checkpoint they please.

Green identity cards are granted to Palestinians living in the West Bank.  Holders of these ID cards cannot travel to Jerusalem freely.  They must obtain a special permit in order to cross through checkpoints into Jerusalem.  Normally, these permits are granted around holidays (for one's respective religion) or through one's work organization.  Even if a Green ID holder obtains a permit, they are not allowed to go through all checkpoints, as a Blue ID holder is allowed.  They may only enter Jerusalem through walking checkpoints, which force them to  make their way through a maze of fences, barbed wire, and long lines.

If one is fortunate enough, they may work for an organization in Jerusalem which allows them special privileges as a Green ID holder.  They still need a permit, but may enter to Jerusalem through whichever checkpoint they wish.

As a foreigner, I am allowed to cross any checkpoint I wish.  Sometimes through a walking checkpoint, my passport may not even be checked because of my foreign appearance.  Other times, I flash my passport and am waved across through a checkpoint.  When I travel to Jerusalem on the bus through the driving checkpoint with Blue ID holders, I am allowed to sit on the bus, while all Blue ID holders must get off the bus, wait outside in the scorching heat, or cold, rain, and wind in order for their ID's to be checked before being allowed back on the bus.  If you are young enough, or old enough, you may be allowed to stay on the bus with foreigners.

Traveling almost every day on this bus, I am often struck by the question propagated by this permit and ID process:


How human are you?


Are you a Jerusalemite, Blue ID holder who is free to move wherever? Are you a Green ID holder in the West Bank, who has a work permit or holiday permit, but only allowed to go through certain checkpoints? Are you a Green ID holder, with a work permit allowing you freedom of movement?  Are you a Green ID holder who cannot receive a permit, because you went to a demonstration as a teenager and were put on a black list to never receive a permit? Or are you a Palestinian whose status as a human has changed?

My friend experienced a change in humanity when he moved from working with an organization with an Israeli partner to a organization based in Palestine?  With this job change, he went from having a permit that allowed him movement through any checkpoint, to having no permit and not being able to enter Jerusalem at all.

Many Israelis and internationals think that the separation wall only affects those who have previously committed violent acts toward Israelis and thus are a threat to Israeli security.  In fact, this is not true.  The separation wall, has been built along with the institution of a delicate permit system.  This system affects all Palestinians and plays a sick game of determining who is human and who is not, and presents the question: how human are you?

© Devon Forster