So I've moved around a lot quite quickly.
Tel Aviv is still the same place that looks like it hasn't been painted in 40 years - that is for the majority of the population, not the Americans who move into the fabulous suburbs. I honestly think it's too hot for mosquitos to survive, roosters still wake me up, and old men pulling carts yell in Yiddish "altezachen" (old things) -- a sort of mobile Goodwill Industries if you will.
Jerusalem is still the amazing, but frighteningly divided city it is. It's strange to see oblivious Jewish-American tourists eating up the hippie lifestyle of their secular Judaism, while down the block you have ultra-orthodox yelling "Nazim! Nazim!" at people who enter their neighborhood dressed inappropriately. I had an orthodox man spit at me yesterday -- it's amazing to me that as little as Americans know about the Israel-Palestine conflict, they know even less about the internal conflict amongst Israelis. More about that in future posts.
Israel has decided to "celebrate" the "reunification" of Jerusalem 40 years ago by putting up signs and billboards celebrating this "victory". A victory that has effectively resulted in the demotion of civil and political rights for East Jerusalem which is now surrounded by rings of Jewish settlements that have trapped the people. They are not allowed to build new homes or expand their homes, many homes are demolished to allow the expansion of the Jew-only neighborhoods, and the route of the wall has broken up neighborhoods, families, and people's lives. Meanwhile, a huge middle finger of an illuminated banner "celebrating" 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem hangs on every lamp post. They can be seen all the way into East Jerusalem.
Ramallah - There is tension in the air, but it is not at all unsafe. As opposed to interactions inside '48, where people are cold if not hostile -- when they're not carrying guns -- in Ramallah, everyone yells "welcome in Palestine, welcome, welcome, welcome!" and little boys run after you with their greetings. Yes, there was an assassination a few weeks ago and incursions around the city by the Israeli army. Right now, though, the most striking difference from last year is that the US-backed security forces of "President" Abbas line the streets of Ramallah and you see more of the elite "sabahtash" or Force 17 crews around. Districts of Ramallah are highly secure and it's clear that the Gazan fighters that were evacuated with Israel's permission are filling up hotels in these areas. I saw a man, clearly a fighter, who's patched eye couldn't cover up the fact that he was angry Fateh's coup didn't work in Gaza. The bad news is that now all these forces are filling up the West Bank. Collaborator Gazans have come here en masse and pro-fateh armed units are lining up on the Jordanian border waiting for orders from Abbas and permission from Israel to come in. It's rumored now too that the 500 strong Egyptian pro-Abbas forces that were set to invade Gaza to finish the coup over Hamas might still enter.
Nablus - I'm trying to make my way up to Nablus to attend University. However, the city had a massive invasion over the past few days with 100+ vehicles. Curfews were imposed and the Israeli army took over the radio stations in order to broadcast this news. Fierce battles continue and to me it seems like this is a serious incursion. It's the largest in a few months and the fact that the resistance managed to injure 8 Israelis is a very big deal. Sure, there have been numerous killing and injuries of Palestinians, 30 Palestinians were kidnapped by the Israeli Army very swiftly and the refugee camps have been sieged. Normally the injury rate for Israeli Army is very low, however. I suspect that they will be out soon and will spend a few weeks torturing those they took and then come back for assassinations, rather than large scale armored invasion -- this is usually how they work. So for those of you worried, this means it will most likely be safer for me.
Gaza - what a mess. One of the most densely populated places in the world subject to some of the most frequent invasion of their sovereign territory (well, if you expel a people from their land and then put them in a very large refugee camp which they are not allowed to enter or leave and they can't go to their own oceanside land and then call it sovereign, you can see how this word is very flexible). Two days ago a number of invasions and attacks left 14 dead, including a 9 year old boy. I finish this report with a collection of news reports
This is what US aid to Israel
Wed Jun 27,
A Palestinian woman carries her daughter after she was injured by an Israeli tank shell in
Wed Jun 27,
The bodies of two wounded Palestinians are seen inside a car as they are taken to the Shifa hospital in
Wed Jun 27,
A woman carries a girl injured by an Israeli tank shell in
Wed Jun 27,
A wounded Palestinian child lies on a hospital trolley in
Wed Jun 27,
A wounded Palestinian woman lies on the ground after she was injured by an Israeli tank shell in
Wed Jun 27,
A Palestinian man carries a wounded boy at the Shifa hospital in
Wed Jun 27,
A Palestinian woman carries her daughter after she was injured by an Israeli tank shell in
Wed Jun 27,
A Palestinian man carries a boy who was wounded in an Israeli army operation into Shifa hospital in
Wed Jun 27,
Palestinian children wait in line to receive food distributed at a soup kitchen in the
Wed Jun 27,
People carry a wounded Palestinian girl (L) and a boy after they were injured by an Israeli tank shell in
Wed Jun 27,
A Palestinian woman carries her wounded daughter at the Shifa hospital in
Wed Jun 27,
Palestinians carry the body of a badly wounded man at the Shifa hospital in
Wed Jun 27,
A woman carries a Palestinian girl injured from an Israeli tank shell in
