The 2nd channel of the German public TV network (ZDF) tonight opened its nightly news with a depressing report from Bethlehem. The city is practically being suffocated by Israel’s separation wall. Although Bethlehem has tried to look festive for Christmas this year, the streets are empty and nearly devoid of any tourists or pilgrims. The report showed the eight meter high wall overshadowing some of the city’s streets and buildings and the totally depressing checkpoint at the entrance of the city. In the words of city’s mayor, Victor Batarseh, Bethlehem feels like a big prsion this Christmas.
The report also showed how a group of armed Palestinian men from Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades militia took over the Bethlehem municipality a few days ago, demanding to be receive government salaries.
The last time I was in Bethlehem was on New Year’s Eve 1999/2000 where my wife, our son Qais (then 2 years old) and I celebrated the arrival of the new millenium with our friend (big) Qais. The city was packed and a big concert and a fireworks show were held on the square near the church of nativity. Those were very different times, and people still had hope that the Palestinian-Israel peace process would actually result in peace. Nedless to say, all hopes were dashed just a few months later.
On that note.. Merry Christmas everyone.
Photo from: www.3djewishteach-in.ca
Comments
11 responses to “Christmas in Bethlehem 2005: under the shadow of Israel’s wall”
Salaam Ahmad,
I think it’s a bit unfair to blame the empty Christmas on the seperation fence alone. I understand that you maintain a higher view of Israel than most in the Arab world, but I have to disagree with you here.
It’s easy for us as desktop commentators to make sweeping criticisms about Israel’s methodology in defense, but it is not so easy for us to provide Israel with an alternative for combating terror since we are neither Israeli nor Anti-Terror experts.
I recall reading in the Jerusalem Post not too long ago that tourism (not to mention the economy) originally started plummeting during the Intifada. Israel’s seperation fence was a defense mechanism that was bought in the desperation caused by the Intifada. I think it follows a line of logic that Islamic extremism plays a larger role in this situation than we would like to think.
Rob,
We don’t have to be terror or defence experts to see that the wall israel has built/is building is a horrible, inhumane and illegal endeavour. The international court in the hague has already deemed it illegal. Man, they are confiscating even more palestinian land. Have you seen the pictures of the wall running in the middle of palestinian neighborhoods? Have you see how much uprooting of trees is going on? It is totally crazy.
I don’t know why you only talk about the desparation of the israelis. remember that there is another people on that land that has been occupied and humiliated by israel for decades.
It really continues to shock me how some israel friends out there can be so blind to the rights of the palestinians.
Obviously, I am against any form of terror. Nor am I a Palestinian propagandist. But Israel and its friends cannot continue to turn a blind eye at Israel’s terrorizing actions (always branded as self defence).
As an excercise, just go out there and search for the number of Palestinain civilians (and kids) killed by Israel and you’ll get an idea about the price of Israel’s self defence. Look at numbers of home demolitions. You’ll start to understand how Israel is providing an excellent growing ground for terror.
I really hope you start to look at this story from both sides if you want to be a friend of both Israel but also the Palestinians.
Rob,
The fact on the ground is the Palestinian lands are still under military occupation. Until the occupation is ended, you can not deny the Palestinian right to fight to exist.
Building the separation walls proves the fact that Israel is an occupying force at the stage of protecting it self rather than expanding, which is a good thing. However, this result in the act of desperation on Israel side which includes bombing civilians using F-16, Tanks, etc. Hey lets bomb this 5 story building just to kill a suspected terrorist. What kind of logic is this Rob? In the same sense, let’s seal the entire town; make everyone suffer just to protect Israel national security.
If Israel wants to protect its self, it must fulfill its promises as part of the past peace accords it made with the Palestinians.
Again, that’s my 2 Agorots
Thanks for the replies.
Part of what makes this conflict so difficult is the paradox between corporate and individual responsibility. The Palestinians (as well as the EU/UN) wish to make all terrorist attacks isolated incidents, without any sort of infrastructure or support. Whereas Israel (and myself) believe that there has to be some sort of collective responsibility to act as a deterrent. With that in mind, I obviously do not support warcrimes or the killing of civilians, but unlike the other mindset, I understand that corporate suffering is an inevitable (albeit unfortunate) part of of the conflict.
I believe that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa, etc. know the western rules of warfare very well, and I think they are taking advantage of it. They know that Israel won’t aggresively root out extremism for good in Palestine due to international outcry. They know full well that nobody will hold them accountable. Not the PLO, not the EU, and certainly not the UN. They know that they are protected by international law as long as they act as militias outside of the control of the Palestinian authority.
I see Israel’s fence as a harsh physical stage in the creation of a Palestinian state. As bad as the fence may be, it’s better than the daily military incursions that would be continue to be repeated if no action were taken. In the end, I think that the wall and the creation of the Palestinian state will ultimately play out in Israel’s favor, since it will place responsibility in the hands of the Palestinian government
and Israel will no longer have to mitigate delicate antiterror incursions in order to stop terrorists.Rob,
Let me put what said in a different form. Building the separation wall will help achieve peace for Israel in the long run by putting the responsibility on the Palestinians to guard the wall for Israel.
This selfish attitude is the root cause of the problem. Everything is for Israel. Nothing for the Palestinians.
There is no excuse what so ever for building this separation wall. It is just down right cruel.
Rob,
I want to offer you this perspective to ponder. If we talk about corporate/collective responsibility, surely it is fair to apply this in a comprehensive manner. Don’t you feel that Israel and who supported its creation have a ‘corporate’ responsibility towards the palestinians? After all, be it by mistake or ignorance or arrogance, Israel’s creation, while solving the jewish tragedy, especially after the holocaust, eventually created a national tragedy for the people who inhabited the land called Palestine.
I know the counter argument that come from the friends of Israel, which is that it was the Arabs who refused the partioning of palestine. Yet Israel went beyond its alloted piece and occupied even more land (in self defence?). Then it went on to establish illegal settlements on confiscated land.
So, clearly you must agree that a really big injustice was inflicted on the palestinians. Not dealing with this historical injustice is a big part of our current problem.
Some palestinain organizations find in this historical injustice ground for launching terror attacks (i obvoiusly disagree with this view). But the general Arab position now is a peaceful one.
I, for one, believe that the issue of Arab and muslim terrorism has ‘root causes’ both in our own culture AND the injustices inflicted on this region and its people. But be very carefull with phrases like ‘rooting out terror for good’. Do you know that there are parties in the Israeli palriaments that are very rascist and that call for the ethnic cleansing of the palestinias! Why is no one asking to violently root out those people from Israel. Let’s not be infatuated with ‘final solutions’ here. They only lead to more evil.
You see Rob.. This kind of thinking is extremely dangerous as it provides the justification of horrible things under the banner of rooting out terror.
Arabs have to deal with extremism in their culture (not an easy task). But believe me when I tell you that justice and more resept (even partial justice) for the Palestinians would go a long way towards drying up the wells of extremism.
If we, Arabs, Israelis, Americans, etc. only look at this issue from our own selfish perspective there will never be a solution. Especially the US friends of Israel, who are ideologically invested in the concept of the defence of Israel, need to start seeing that there is legitimacy to the Palestinian side of the story. Continuing to ignore and/or justify everything Israel does is doing so much harm to the cause of peace and the cause of arab moderates in their own societies.
Corporate responsibility means that Israel QUICKLY accepts a viable palestinian state on all the lands occupied after 1967 (maybe with some land exchanges), a sharing of Jerusalem, and a convincingly fair solution for the people who got kicked out of Palestine in 1948, the latter being not some abstract demand (talk to a person who cannot lay claim on his or his father’s house in Jaffa and you’ll understand).
Sorry for the long rant.
No problem. Rants are better than mindless objectivity
With my poor English composition I have a hard time dividing rants and answers so I’ll have to take this step by step.
Ahmad:
“I know the counter argument that come from the friends of Israel, which is that it was the Arabs who refused the partioning of palestine. Yet Israel went beyond its alloted piece and occupied even more land (in self defence?). Then it went on to establish illegal settlements on confiscated land.”
This accurately sums up the problem of Israel’s existance. We haven’t really had a unified statement as to what Israel’s borders borders should be, in part due to the nations that have, and continue to, deny its existance. I’m not denying that this has been abused by Israel, I’m simply stating that this makes matters much more difficult.
(In fact, we haven’t really solved the issues of the statehood of the nations that were created after the dissolution of the Ottoman empire. Iraq could certainly serve as an example of lousy border delegation.)
This certainly stands favorably for moderate Zionists as well as radical Zionists, since the Arabs states can’t have both military domination and diplomacy, and you can’t simply choose diplomacy because military domination didn’t work out.
As you pointed out, the argument usually runs as follows: “Since the Arab nations chose military domination, they can’t question the results.” I take a middle position. I believe the fact that the Arab nations chose war over recognition carries weight in the current argument, simply because the Arab nations haven’t come out and apologized for making that choice. Nations can’t fight and negociate at the same time.
I certainly don’t agree with everything the Israeli gov’t stands for, and I absolutely agree that the radical religious parties in Israel should have no power whatsoever. There is no disagreement there
I think I need to elaborate on what I meant by rooting out terror. I wasn’t referring to some sort of “Endlösen der Arabischen vom Palestine” (or whatever the German would be). I was referring to a “regime change.” (The phrase has become popular, though it is technically a rediculous term.) I was simply stating that both the Palestinian terrorist groups and Israel know that Israel can’t engage in “regime change” in Palestine.
Vistaman:
In the West, we assume that every nation has a right to defend itself, and that terrorism (in a very technical sense) is a completely illegitimate form of resistance. The IDF does not engage in terrorism, it engages in warfare; which certainly can “terrorize”, but it does involve restraint. If Israel were to engage in Hamas/Islamic Jihad/Al-Qaeda style terrorism, they would simply drop a dozen bombs on a large Hamas rally, or nuke Palestine altogether.
The Wall is going to serve as a point of a permanent border. I don’t know all the details that went into its final location, so I can’t say that I agree with everything that encompasses it, but I agree that a wall can be used to deter terrorists from entering Israel.
Sorry for the scattered nature of my post. :p
Hi Rob,
I am not going go into what is a terrorist and what is not as this is a separate topic which I don’t want to get into right now.
Going back to the main topic, which is Israel building the separation wall. I am outraged how easy it is for you to justify building this separation wall. And you said that you live in the west??? How? Aren’t these people, the Palestinians, human beings like everyone else? Isn’t it enough that they have been living under occupation since 1948? How can someone lives in the west justify this?
As I said in my earlier post, until Israel stop approaching the whole situation from a selfish perspective, the problem will never be solved.
And btw, why Arabs/Muslims/Palestinians need to apologize to Israel? They are not the ones who went to the Jews in Europe and forced them to leave their homes in Europe and to go and live in Palestine
Hi Rob
Re: In regards to terror.
It seems throughout history we have come across many emergent political parties that engaged in violent armed struggles in which their participants were seen as terrorists by the world at large. These groups such as the Israeli ‘Irgun Zvai Leumi’ which was the parent body of the ‘Stern Gang’ began their terrorist campaign against the Palestinians in Sept 1937 and they believed in the sole solution of establishing Israel by force on both banks of the Jordan river, unlike Hamas these terrorist organisations were not working towards pursuing secessionist liberation struggles against an ongoing occupation nor they were aggressed for 60 years by a Zionist political agenda. Despite their fanaticism they were regarded by Israelis as national military organisations that aimed to safeguard Jewish interests. To the world at large however, they were regarded as terrorists particularly after they targeted British forces in Feb 1944 in Jerusalem and assassinated Lord Walter Moyne (1880-1944) the British colonial secretary & minister resident of the Middle East in Cairo. Lohemai Herut Israel and Haganah were other organisation that believed in fighting for the freedom of Israel but all of their tactics weren’t any different of those of Hamas. Surprisingly without these terrorist organisations the Israeli state would not have been present today.
Whose house is of glasse, must not throw stones at another.
[1640 G. Herbert Outlandish Proverbs no. 196]
I do condemn all terror campaigns but let me ask you this: Have the world left the Palestinians any other options particularly as Israelis continue to apply sophisticated terror techniques to make it unbearable in the occupied territories and drive Palestinians out of the remaining 18% of historic Palestine?
Re: Settlement Expansion in the West Bank in the name of Security
One does not have to look hard for evidence of Israel’s oppressive military practices against Palestinian civilians. There is no doubt that the Israeli government is telling the Western world that their presence in the West Bank is for security reasons, but let me start by asking you a question. Have you been to the West Bank and to Gaza? Have you traveled deeply into Palestinian villages and towns? 
I have and it is definitely not a pleasant site. I could sit down here right now and detail the horrors I witnessed under the IDF but this is not the point.
The Israelis argue that checkpoints are to some extent necessary but I thought that for Israel to protect herself, it doesn’t need hundreds of checkpoints in every Palestinian town or village in the West Bank. That does not secure Israel while on the contrary; it stifles & suffocates people and ultimately breeds resistance. Punishing the Palestinians collectively, using force on an entire nation and constantly killing civilians in the West bank and Gaza shows that the scale of violence inflicted by the occupier is ultimately going to lead to more Palestinian guerrilla attacks on Israeli army posts and civilians. Note that every Israeli citizen (apart from Arab Israelis) has to serve in the army and many are posted in the occupied territories, these soldiers are young Israeli men and women who are responsible for these atrocities. Furthermore, all Israelis take part in democratic elections and they select governments that advocate & enforces these policies.
While you argue that Israel is entitled to secure its borders, note that the West Bank and Gaza are way beyond its borders. If security is what they are after, then why continue establishing and expanding Illegal settlements in the West Bank? Why seize the best Palestinian farmland? Why impose curfews that generally last a fortnight? Why publicly humiliate Palestinians at checkpoints? Why orchestrate midnight air raids & artillery bombardments? Why use nightly sonic booms? Why destruct thousands of homes and schools? Why knock out power supplies? Why execute families indiscriminately because they were in the wrong place & gun down women and children?
Maybe you should ask yourself all of these questions. If you think Israel needs checkpoints to stop ammunition from being smuggled in, maybe you need to think why are they attacking Israel in the first place. Is it because they are confined to an open-air prison? Is it because they are being dispossessed? Is it because they have been denied their basic human rights for almost 60 years? Is it because their identity & culture has been high jacked? There is no reason in the world why Israel should be able to occupy, destroy, kidnap and eliminate its perceived foes – repeatedly, with impunity and without restraint – while the other side cannot do the same. It is important to bear in mind that the Palestinians are still under the boot of occupation. Haven’t you thought that these people have been left with no choice but resist an unjust military occupation?
We are tired of how all-military operations today are filed under the rubric of “Securityâ€. The coalition of the willing invaded Iraq with claims of protecting American security. This is what we have been told to accept an illegal war. We all bought their lies that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction & that he had a connection to Al Qaeda. Four years later we learnt that there were no weapons of mass destruction nor links to Bin laden. We were left with lies; lies that were repeatedly told by the US to secure their agendas in the Middle East. In relation to Israel, I believe it is never about security per se but about securing a Zionist ideology that is fundamentally colonialist. An agenda that is designed to systematically apply terror techniques to drive Palestinians out of the remaining 18% of historic Palestine and also to discourage the refugees from returning.
Olmert said that Israel would not “build new settlements†or “expropriate lands†and that it was committed to “dismantling the illegal outposts.†Yet, Israel has already expropriated more than 40 per cent of West Bank land and has reserved it for settlements and their expansion: it is on that very land that Olmert will allow the building of settlement “neighbourhoods†to continue. According to the Road Map, there is no distinction between legal or illegal outposts because all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and so the freeze on building applies to all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem. However, there is no freeze and never has been. For all the talk of peace and expectations that the Palestinians must comply with their obligations, Israel continues to give subsidies and economic incentives for settlers and authorises the urban planning of settlements. If Palestinian homes or agricultural land are in the way, they are demolished, destroyed and confiscated. Israel has the military might to enforce whatever it wants without fear of any damaging retribution or being reined in. There is absolutely no bona fide intention on Israel’s part to adhere to any of its obligations which makes all the previous peace processes an exercise in futility.
In addition to this, Olmert at Annapolis also made it clear that he came “not in order to settle historical accounts†despite the suffering of Palestinians for many years and them “living for decades in camps, disconnected from the environment in which they grew up . . .†In effect, he was saying that Israel is not responsible and that they would not accept the refugees right of return to their original homes under United Nations resolution 194. The future of Palestinians, according to Olmert, would be in an agreed-upon Palestinian state, and by that we can infer, within borders of Israel’s choosing. Therefore it is a unilateral decision that is not negotiated with the other party and that is designed with the intention to effectively put the seal on the Palestinian dispossession and force them to surrender their inalienable rights.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could explain to me how there is a correlation between Israel’s expansion in the West Bank and security. Unfortunately, all I see is Zionist expansionist ideology which is deeply embedded into Israeli policies and is fundamentally colonialist.
Re: The Separation Fence
The number of registered Palestinian refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than 4.4 million in 2005, and continues to rise due to natural population growth. One-third of the registered Palestine refugees, about 2 million, live in 59 recognized UN refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and Egypt. There are about 2.2 million Palestinians in the West Bank and over a million in Gaza. Not to forget that 20% of the Israeli population is of Palestinian heritage. What I am trying to say is even by building a wall, this is not going to separate Israelis entirely from Palestinians; the wall in Berlin and the system of apartheid in South Africa are excellent examples of how this model of segregation failed. Eventually, we will have to learn to live with each other and share this land whether we like it or not. Politicians and aggressive means have been tried, tested and failed. Maybe we should give humans and more peaceful efforts a fair trial. This can only be done by acknowledging that there are collective traumas for Palestinians, much lack of trust towards Israelis, and immense need for dialogue and apology. After all, it is the Palestinians that have been expelled and dispossessed from a land that they lived on for centuries.
I believe that the Israeli wall goes againist the Genvea Conventions on war and at the same time Israel and Palestinians should both have the same rights to occupy land that their forefathers have faught and lost there lives to keep Historically and Inhertly both have created nations on this trip of Levantine land so by Law it Belongs to Both Israel And Palestine
My neighboring city, Sacramento, California, has recently adopted Bethlehem, Palestine, as a sister city.
I have been to Jerusalem three times (1985,2004, and 2008) and I visited Bethlhem on my first and last visit. My mother and I and nine others in our tour group visited there on Thanksgiving Day, 1985, and had a lovely dinner in an excellent restaurant.
I revisited Bethlehem in 2008 with two friends and we spent three nights behind the Israeli separation wall. I wrote an e-mail to my wife and some of my message was deleted before she received it.
I had the unique experience of walking through the wall from the Palistinian side. I then caught an Israeli bus. A block later, two Israeli soldiers armed with M16 rifles, stopped our bus and made all the passengers leave the bus and stand on the side walk, double filed, to have our passports examined.
I talked with people on both sides of the fence and I am convinced that God alone can understand the complex problem and He alone will one day solve it.
I know there is worldwide protest against Israel’s ominous separation wall. However, if you live in Israel or visit Israel you will appreciate the security it provides.
I will summarize my comments with a quote from a friend who resides in the middle east,”If you think you understand the Israeli-Palestinian problem, it just hasn’t been explained to you well enough.”