A Weekend in the West Bank: The Sabeel International Young Adult Conference Continues

On Saturday, the participants visited the largest city in the West Bank, Hebron. Hebron is the only Palestinian city to have a settlement inside of it. Because of the presence of these settlers, movement of Palestinians is greatly restricted in the name of the settlers' security. Certain major roads are specified for use by Israelis only. The Temporary International Presence in Hebron counted 113 checkpoints, roadblocks, and closures inside of the city. Because of these restrictions, the Palestinian economy in Hebron has become strangled. Watch this short introductory video below.



One participant from the United States, Alexandra writes:

The city is not being protected, the soldiers are plainly there for inconvenience. Blocking exists down the shops hallways, closing stores, allowing settlements to throw trash and bricks at the people below, taking homes, all in the name of security!

I do not see security, I see the basic needs of life stripped and I see prisoners in their own town. I see children living in filth much worst than third living world countries.

To learn more about Hebron, browse through BTselem's publications regarding the city.

On Sunday, the participants attended church Beit Sahour, close to Bethlehem. After services, they had the opportunity to speak to local Christian families about the challenges they face living under occupation. One topic that was raised concerned water.

The scarcity of water is a major issue for Palestinians in the West Bank, particularly during the summer. Israeli citizens (those inside of Israel AND settlers in the West Bank) benefit from unlimited access to running water all year round consuming, on average, 280 liters a day. Palestinians, on the other hand, are able to utilize only 60 liters per a day. The World Health Organization recommends 100 liters per a day as the minimum quantity for basic consumption.

Israel has strong control over the area's water sources even though two of the major sources of Israel's water lie largely in the West Bank, the Mountain Aquifer and the Jordan River. Palestinians have a right to this natural resource and Israel has a responsibility as an occupying force to ensure that Palestinians receive it.

BTselem states:

The water shortage violates the basic human rights of Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories such as the right to health, to adequate housing, to equality, and to benefit from their natural resources. This harm results from Israeli policy, in effect since 1967, based on an unfair division of resources shared by Israel and the Palestinians.

Next the participants toured Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. They enjoyed shopping and listening to a story of a collective act of nonviolent resistance demonstrated by the local population during the first Intifada. In response to the Israeli authorities' increase in taxes imposed on the people and the lack of services provided, the local population refused to pay and disposed of their blue identity cards issued by the Israeli government. In reaction, the Israeli government took all of the possessions of the protesters in lieu of their tax money. However, those who took part are still proud of this nonviolent act.

Tomorrow, the participants will be in Taybeh.

Update: The Second Day of the Sabeel International Young Adult Conference and a Message from a Participant!

The second full day of the Sabeel International Young Adult Conference began with a briefing regarding access and movement in the West Bank and Gaza by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). There are over 602 checkpoints and barriers restricting the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank.

After the briefing, the participants visited Ein Kerem, the home village of John the Baptist, at which a Bible study was led by Father Rafiq Khoury illustrating the relevance of John the Baptist’s life to Palestinian Christians’ lives today.

Next the participants took part in a Sabeel tradition, walking the Contemporary Way of the Cross, with Sabeel staff member Nora Carmi. The Contemporary Way of the Cross draws a parallel between the suffering of Christ and the suffering of the Palestinians living under restrictive Israeli measures. The first station was the site of a Palestinian village depopulated during the Nakba (1948). 480 Palestinian towns and villages were depopulated in 1948 and resulted in the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The following stations consisted of examples of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank: a checkpoint, settlements, and the Separation Wall. The last station was the tent of a woman, Um Kamel, who was pushed out of her home by Jewish settlers with the aid of Israeli soldiers in East Jerusalem. She was a refugee of 1948 and was made homeless again in November 2008. UNRWA had bought the land for her house to be built in 1956 from Jordan before the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem. Yet, the Israeli authorities somehow still found reason to throw her out of her home claiming legal authority.

Watch Um Kamel tell her story:

A Message from Hannah Carter:

Hi everyone,

Thanks for following us on the blog! It is just the end of the second full day here and it feels like we’ve been here for weeks. We have seen so much already, and heard so many stories…to summarize it all when I get back will be difficult. We began the week with a worship service in the Garden of Gethsemane and then walked the Stations of the Cross here in Jerusalem. Today we met with the UN, took our first trip into the West Bank, met with a refugee family and also visited the town where John the Baptist was born.

Needless to say it’s been an incredible experience so far and I can’t wait for the rest of it.

- Hannah

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