DAY 6

Ahlan.

We start our day in Beit Hanina where we meet with the Jerusalem Centre for Woman which was established in 1994 as a political vehicle to help women participating in political activities.

Palestinian and Israeli women get together and talk about various things such as final status negotiations, Jerusalem....S is doing the talking. It is an amazing group of women training others in taking part in conferences, documenting human right abuses inside Jerusalem, issuing legal reports, press releases....

Life is incredibly hard for Arabic Jerusalem women because they have to live under Israeli laws which are very different from the West Bank ones. A woman has to carry a Blue I.D a Jordanian passport, cannot get an Israeli one, and is Palestinian. Family reunification is really hard. If a woman marry to a West Bank man, the situation becomes impossible. She cannot go to the W.B and her husband cannot get to Jerusalem easily (he has to ask for a permit every time which are really hard to get).

Women in Jerusalem get really low jobs. They clean hospitals, schools....there are only limited opportunities for them to learn Hebrew which makes job hunting even harder.

You have to remember that Palestinians have the highest level of education of the Arab World. Palestinians are highly skilled and educated people.

The women in Jerusalem suffer a lot from House demolitions as well and very little get married by dating. Most marriages are arranged by the father. More and more women in Jerusalem suffer from depression.

Even the most destitute of the women have to pay equal taxes (with the Israelis) but get only 30% maximum of the services that Israelis get.

This is a lot worse than apartheid. People really have to start using this word while addressing the situation in Palestine. APARTHEID.

Listening to S. is again really tough emotionally. How can such things can happen in the world today with the international community standing by doing nothing?

8 women work in the centre including a volunteer from Ireland, E.

This centre is making some progress, even if only marginally. Some women start to get elected in local councils. This is really positive.

RAMALLAH

We then arrive in Ramallah, and pass in front of the celebration of the death of Yasser Arafat. Security is at its highest, and our little bus advances really really slowly thru the controlled chaos that Ramallah is.

We have an appointment with W. from the PLO negotiation unit. We get to his building but it is hard to find the right floor because they have not dared put a sign with PLO in the lobby.

W. shows us a really interesting power point presentation. Some facts:

-The wall will be 755km long when completed

-So far 419 km have been completed

-50 km are under construction

-The wall will go as deep as 22km inside Occupied Palestinian Territories.

-260 000 Palestinians are isolated from rest of Palestinian towns by the wall

-300 000 Palestinians are cut from their agricultural land

-All in all 12% of the W.B will be incorporated inside the in Israel (water resources, Jerusalem..) Which will de facto means the end of a Palestinian state.

-Settlements are continuously growing, they now have taken over 8% of WB

-Jordan Valley Settlers control has taken up to 26% of OPT.

This all means that only 54% of the W.B will be left to Palestine.

How do you call that? This is a wicked scheme, there is no other word.

W. also explains us that the Jerusalem, ramallah, Bethlehem route is vital for Palestinian economy, culture...those towns are inter dependent and inter linked. This route accounts for 35% of Palestinian economy.

End of meeting, as always we are in a rush. The bus in waiting for us on the other side of the road. As usual I always intend on getting in last. I turn around and see a building with a huge Palestinian flag at the top. I really have to photograph that. From the entry of the huge building an armed Palestinian (security services) waves at me menacingly and tell me not to film. I waive back. "La filming" I scream at him (No filming). Another officer start to walk towards me so I decide to go towards him as well. How are you? He does not speak English but ask me to go with him to the building. I still not fully get it. I think that he wants to talk....I slowly realise that this is a security building and an important one apparently. I meet with the other soldier, older, who speaks a bit of English. L. our tour leader, from the bus, screams at me to get back to the bus, she still think that, as usual, I got into a conversation with people and do my journalist thingy. I wish I could rejoin the bus, but this is not my decision. The armed guy asked me to show him the footage I have got. Luckily I have just changed tapes and there is only 1 min of footage. I did not film the building. I think to myself, "ok I can go now" but someone wearing a suit ask me to follow him into the building...shit it is sort of getting scary now. L. comes down running with A. and start screaming "F. go back to the bus, we are late!" I reply that I wish I could, but that those guys won't let me go. Anoother man comes out, say something in Arabic and lets me go. Phew, even if it was not Mossad or something and that I will always feel more comfortable with Palestinian security forces than Israeli ones, I was starting to get worried. I run back to the bus. Yallah!

We have lunch in a famous Palestinian restaurant in Ramallah. Loads of dignitaries..have eaten here. The food is delicious. Portions are not enough to my liking so I ask for desert. Baklava please. No Baklava. Strawberry cheesecake. I guess that'll do.

A well known Palestinian Businessman joins us at the restaurant.

He tells us that he has to leave the country every 3 months to renew his visa. He has been doing that for the last 20 years! He gives us his view on the future:

-The PA does only represent 40% of Palestinian people. The diaspora has to be included.

-The PA has a political entity is dead, has failed, and should be dismantled.

-No choice for the leadership to go to the Annapolis conference. They are the weak party. They have to go but need to go with a strong basic argument. This whole issue has to be based on respect of International law (something foreign to Israel and the USA).

-Israel have to acknowledge that the Palestinians are an occupied people and therefore that they are protected under international law. Israel has always refused this. This is not occupied but disputed territories.

-Israel has to understand that the Gazans are hardened people and that they will not crumble that easily. They have been use to human battering more than anyone else and have not disappeared. The US thought that boycotting Hamas will make the party collapse but Hamas is still there after 2 years.

-The situation in Gaza has to be discussed at Annapolis and Gaza has to be part of the negotiations. Gaza represents 40% of the Palestinian people.

S. has to go, he has to go to a meeting with 2 ex CIA agents. Busy and important man. A mountain of a man as well.

back to BIL'IN

We then go back to Bil'in to show this amazing village to the rest of the group. We are welcomed by the village council.

2000 Palestinians live in Bil'in.

M. explains us that there is now 2 demonstrations every Friday in Bil'in. One has sort of been hijacked by the internationals. They were not asked to come back but have done so for the last 3 years. Their presence is really important.

The other demo has started only 2 weeks ago and is about the apartheid road. Road 443 connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israeli road only.

The Bil'in residents can see the sea from their roof tops, but are not able to reach it. (have to ask permission to Israel but this is hardly ever given to them).

We leave the office a bump into a Palestinian "Orus" (wedding). Loads of cars, loads of people, great atmosphere.

We go back to where the demo had taken place to day before and are allowed to reach the location from where the IOF soldiers were firing Rubber bullets, Tear Gas.....Loads of empty cartridges lie on the floor. Not very environmentally friendly those young soldiers.....

Its getting late and we have to go back.
We learn a bit later that Bil'in village has just won the first Yasser Arafat Achievement Award.

We get to the hotel completely exhausted once more. Who said that this was a holiday!

We go for a drink after dinner. I really want to stay in East Jerusalem ("Palestinian part") but nothing is open. We reach West Jerusalem and get enter into a bar. (security outside the door of course). I feel really bad to talk about boycott all day and to drink Israeli beer now. We decide to only get one drink. We are thinking about leaving without paying as a sort of statement but as soon as we get dressed the barman comes and ask if we want the bill. Boy its expensive, pretty much London prices. I pay and the barman looks at me confused. "what about tips?" What? You ask for tips now? I thought this was discretionary? I ask him if its compulsory to tip. He says no. I do not tip.

We leave the place and decide to get to an off licence to get one more drink. Silly us, East Jerusalem is Arabic and you cannot find beer at 1am in the morning.

We decide to walk back to the hotel, but get lost. We order a cab. We were 500 yards away from the St Georges. Tomorrow is off day. A bit of a rest could be nice.....I'll tell you more about it in a few hours.

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