The finger on the trigger

The Finger on the trigger

A journey to the West Bank

I arrived to Jerusalem by a Ser-Vee or Sherut, a mini-bus, at the Damascus Gate. From there I took the bus nbr 21 from the Arab bus station, that was going to Bethlehem via Beit Jala to avoid the Check-points. I arrived at S.t Vincents Guesthouse, where I was booked from March 26 until Sunday the 30th. After changing clothes I went out to explore Bethlehem. I had no map so I just wandered around and followed my feeling where the Manger Square is located. After some time I saw the Nativity Church tower, so I continued in that direction. I went in and it was a fantastic feeling to be at THE actual spot where Jesus was born! I felt very spiritual at that moment.

Later that evening I walked to the wall, 8 meters tall and it will be more than 700 km when it is finished. It is awfully ugly and depressing, The Palestinians try to make it nicer with a lot of graffiti, at the same time with political messages and stories what have happened to a lot of people in Bethlehem!

Early next morning, Thursday, I went back to Jerusalem by bus and after a while we reached the check-point, Most of the passengers went off the bus, standing in line, Then three soldiers came on board, I showed my passport to a very young girl with a machine gun and her finger on the trigger, one meter from me.                               (The image is from another time)

Pretty scary, I think. She asked me in a tuff voice what I was doing and if I was a tourist. I felt very intimidated of her behavior but at least I could remain seated in the bus. It must be much more intimidating for the Palestinians to go through this every time they are going outside the wall, This happened all three times I went in to Jerusalem. the last time it was even worse. because then another female soldier around 20 years old, asked me about my visa. I  had not looked in my passport since I arrived, so I thought it was stamped upon my arrival, but there was nothing, She said, ”next time bring your visa with you”. A lot of thoughts went thru my head, why wasn’t there a stamp? In the city I met a Swedish woman, that I had met before at the Swedish Christian Study Centre. She told me that it is a small piece of paper that they put into the passport. You are supposed to read on that piece of paper because it says you should keep it together with your passport ALL THE TIME! She then said, look in your pockets, perhaps it fell out, and she also said that that they should mention that to you when you get your passport back. Anyhow after an interesting day in Jerusalem I went back to Bethlehem and looked in my jackett and there it was. I felt very relieved because that is something you should leave at passport control when you depart.

Still I feel very uncomfortable about these moments with a soldier standing in front of you with a machine gun and the finger on the trigger IN A BUS.

Another event that I witnessed was at the Jaffa gate when I was sitting there having coffee with an american priest. A bunch of settlers were going in the Old City to provoke Palestinians. The worst of all, I think, is that they are allowed to carry machine guns. I mean, they are civilians?? This happened on Saturday which is Sabbat to them when they are supposed to rest and pray. But they find the time to harass Palestinians. This is terrible and it keeps going on and the rest of the world is silent! I feel ashamed, we all are human beings, How can the International Community tolerate that this goes on? 

The last four days of my trip I stayed in Bil’in with a very nice and hospitable family. 

Iyad Burnat’s house

Memorial stone of Bassem

I have met so many wonderful Palestinians, been invited to arabic coffee or tea everywhere. I also have had the chance to see where the weekly demonstrations are being held every Friday. I have visited the place where Bassem was shot in 2009, the friendliest soul on earth telling the soldiers to stop shooting as they shot very close to the sheep. Instead they shot a woman and Bassem once again told them to stop shooting as one person was injured. The answer, the soldiers killed Bassem! The whole story is written down on the memorial stone that is raised in his honor.

The wall cuts through the landscape everywhere here in Bil’in and is a constant reminder for the people here that they are trapped. Iyad, who I was living by, told me that he is going to the US and the Ben Gurion airport is only 25 km away, but as a Palestinian he can not leave from there.  He has to go to Amman, which is only 65km away, but he has to leave at 0600 o’clock to be able to reach a flight that departs the next morning. He will arrive in Amman by evening and has to sleep over.

Another story that I was not aware of, happened the night between Tuesday and Wednesday at 0230, Israelis soldiers were outside of the house, 15 meters away from where I was sleeping. That is a bit scary!

It was even more scary the night after, my last night! About 150 soldiers were in the village and outside the house around 2 and 3 am, raided 5 houses, thankfully no arrests were made!Image by Hamde Abu Rhama

When I left the house to go to the airport at 5.50 am the soldiers were everywhere in the hills. I saw lot of lights in the hills where I had been walking a couple of days earlier and even som flying objects, perhaps a chopper!

This is a picture from Friday the 11 of April, from the same hills!

Most of the family were up on the roof and checked them (soldiers) out, except the two younger ones! Their neighbor that we had visited the day before, was raided! I hope that the responsible persons for these horrendous things get really punished one day. This is Palestinian land and the Israeli soldiers should not be permitted to do this. As it says according to International law.  But it seems that nobody cares, why is beyond me! And they have the guts to say that the Palestinians are terrorists????? The real terrorists in this part of the world are the Israeli government! The taxi driver told me that a lot of Airlines tell the passengers, just before landing, never to go to the West Bank. It’s dangerous and they can be robbed or killed! NONSENSE! The only time I felt threatened was at the check-points! In Palestine I was overwhelmed  with the love I met everywhere.

I think and really believe that the Israeli government has to cave in and remove the wall, treat the Palestinians as human beings and help them to rebuild what they have destroyed. It is time that they start to live as one country and one people.