Monday, March 19, 2012

A barrier that stops progress

Richard Llewellin, Bishop of Dover 1992-1999, spent three months earlier this year as an ‘accompanier’ in Bethlehem, under a World Council of Churches scheme to send volunteers to live in the occupied Palestinian ‘West Bank’ to give encouragement and support.

None of us found it much fun getting up at three in the morning to be at the checkpoint before four o’clock. every working day, about 2500 Palestinians from Bethlehem and the surrounding villages have to pass through this checkpoint to reach their place of work in east Jerusalem (still part of the west Bank, but appropriated by israel as part of ‘greater Jerusalem’).

The checkpoint is a miserable place, especially on a cold and windy morning. To get to work on time, the earliest arrivals are there by 3 am. even at that early hour, long queues form, and movement through the checkpoint is often very slow.

our task was to count as accurately as possible, each half-hour, the number of people passing through and, where possible, to encourage the soldiers at the checkpoint to allow people to pass through more quickly. our logs were forwarded each week to such organisations as the Red cross and united Nations representatives in the area, to afford them independent evidence in their discussions about checkpoints with the israeli authorities.

i happened to meet one woman whom i had accompanied through the checkpoint one early morning a day or two previously. she said: “Going through that checkpoint with you at five o’clock has taught me more about the occupation than any other experience during my time in the holy land.”

we visited a number of Palestinian villages surrounding the town of Bethlehem. in each we heard and saw the same story: how the occupation has severely disrupted everyday life, especially in those villages affected by the separation barrier. Also, villagers living near Jewish settlements (new towns for israelis built

Richard Llewellin in Bethlehem.

within the Palestinian west Bank) are frequently subjected to harassment by the settlers. some of the Jews believe that the whole of the land from the mediterranean to the River Jordan, and from lebanon in the north to egypt in the south, belongs to them by divine right. For them, the sooner the Palestinian Arabs leave for other Arab countries the better. The israeli Defence Force (iDF) is often less than zealous in preventing the harassment of the villagers.

much of the separation barrier does not follow the 1949 armistice line between israel and the west Bank: in places it bites deep into Palestinian territory, not only to encompass illegally built israeli settlements but also to enclose considerable swaths of Palestinian farming land. A number of Palestinian villages have been cut in two by this barrier, dividing Palestinian from Palestinian and cutting off villages from neighbouring villages and from their local town. This has had devastating effects on the local economy.

Then there are the house demolitions. Palestinians find it exceedingly difficult and expensive to obtain a building permit. many build without a permit, knowing that they risk their home being demolished, but having no other way of housing their families. They hope that, in the lottery of demolition, their house will be spared. some are not. since 1967, more than 24,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished by the israelis. some demolition has been to make way for the separation

barrier or other military installations, some in order to inflict punishment. most, though, serves to enforce discriminatory building regulations, all of which dispossess innocent and peaceful Palestinians of their homes.



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we also visited refugee camps, of which there are three in Bethlehem. These started out as tented villages erected by the united Nations after the 1948 Arab-israeli war, when 513 Palestinian villages were

visible because we always wore waistcoats with a distinctive logo, wherever we went.

israeli soldiers would inevitably arrive in strength, and would sooner or later bar the way, after which the outcome was unpredictable. much depended on the attitude of the officer in charge. Tear gas and sound bombs were sometimes used to disperse the crowd. it was during these demonstrations that i met Jewish israelis who were completely opposed to the occupation. These valiant people told us that they were glad of our support.

what good did we do? without a doubt, our presence was valued by the Palestinians we came to know in the relatively short time we were there, and by israeli peace activists. And i am convinced that our duties at the checkpoint were important, providing reliable and objective statistics.

we did not go to israel/ Palestine to ‘take sides’. my respect and regard for Jewish

“Going through that checkpoint with you at five o’clock has taught me more about the occupation than any other experience during my time in the holy land.”

destroyed by the advancing israeli forces, and about 750,000 Palestinians were made homeless.

The refugees were assured that they would be returning to their homes within a few weeks.

sixty-three years later, these tented dwellings have become transformed into suburbs of Bethlehem. many children of the first refugees still treasure the keys to the homes from which their parents fled, and still hope to return one day – a hope that the israeli Prime minister described recently as “a fantasy”.

one way in which we supported peace activists was by joining non-violent demonstrations against the occupation. These were Palestinian demonstrations, not ours, and our role was one of accompaniment and support, so we stayed towards the back of the gathering. But our presence was

people remains unaltered. And i grew to admire the resilience and humour of Palestinians.

i am, without apology, deeply critical of the policies of the israeli government towards Palestinians in the west Bank and Gaza. its legitimate concern for the security of israeli society cannot justify most of the restrictions and humiliations and discriminatory policies it has imposed on the Palestinian population.

i will do all in my power to persuade people that the continued military occupation is unjust, and does damage to both societies, Palestinian and Israeli.

The Right Reverend Richard Llewellin will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from November 12th-21st. For more information visit www.lightline.org.uk or by calling 01227 789515