Day 8 of the Delegation: Bethlehem & the Apartheid Wall

Day 8 of the Delegation: Bethlehem & the Apartheid Wall

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Today, we visited Bethlehem and a number of its institutions and sites, including BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, the Alternative Information Center, the Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society in Aida refugee camp, a section of the apartheid wall, and the Church of the Nativity.

BADIL is a human rights and legal advocacy organization working to secure and defend the Right of Return for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants, as well as challenge Israel’s treatment of refugees and internally displaced people in Palestine, especially in the context of its legalized apartheid system.

This hierarchy of citizenship and nationality grants all residency rights and privileges to Israeli Jewish nationals, and much less to everyone else. Barely second-class citizenship and residency rights are afforded to non-Jewish citizens of Israel (the 1948 Palestinians who were not driven off the land during the 1947-49 Nakba) and Jerusalem residents, while West Bank ID holders, Gaza residents, and all others, including refugees and Palestinians in the diaspora, have almost no rights.

We did not address specifically the issues of non-Israelis and non-Palestinians, but know that African, Asian, and other refugees and migrant workers are woefully mistreated by the Israelis as well.

Next we met with Dr. Nassar Ibrahim, head of the Alternative Information Center. He gave an in-depth analysis of the Oslo Accords (the “peace agreement” signed by the Israelis and Palestinians in 1993), contextualizing it as occurring at a moment of general Arab defeat. (The first Gulf War started in 1991, which led to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, and subsequent attacks on Arab sovereignty in the region.)

Ibrahim argued that Oslo led to Israeli political, economic, and security domination over the Palestinian people. In the political context, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was essentially replaced by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which meant that the national liberation movement was therefore replaced by a state-building process.

Oslo and subsequent negotiations and agreements also ensured that the Palestinian economy would be subservient and dependent on the Israeli economy in every way. And lastly, security deals inherent in the Oslo Accords ensured that the PA’s security forces would become enforcers of the Israeli occupation. (We see this in the “security coordination” between the PA and Israel, which USPCN for years has demanded should be discontinued.)

Ibrahim ended his presentation on an encouraging note, stressing that no matter how difficult the situation is today because of Oslo, “there is a clear difference between the thoughts and beliefs of the Palestinian people and the actions of the PA’s leaders.”

After the meeting with the AIC, we traveled to Aida refugee camp to visit the Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society and Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour, its general director. Upon entering the camp, we immediately noticed that it was surrounded by the apartheid wall.

Two-thirds of the people in the camp are under 18 years old. Unemployment is almost at 50%. Aida has had 85% of its residents exposed to tear gas in their homes over the years. In this context, Alrowwad was founded in 1998 as a volunteer-based organization that eventually established a dance and music studio, a radio station, and videography classes.

Future plans include the creation of a robotics program, the building of a guest house, and the establishment of industrial woodworking and cooking classes, respectively. These projects help youth in the camp control their narratives as well as learn skills that could lead to careers.

The apartheid wall surrounding the camp and the city made Bethlehem look like a prison. It limits or stops the mobility of residents to travel in and out of the city. Israel continues to claim that it was built for its security, but in reality, it is utilized to dehumanize Palestinians and annex more and more Palestinian land. It is very hard to describe our feelings while standing in front of the wall; the brutality of it is beyond words.

We could not visit Bethlehem without a trip to one of the holiest sites in the world, the beautiful Church of the Nativity, where Jesus was born. There were hundreds of religious tourists there, and the Israeli exploitation of the area reminded us of the other tourist sites we had visited the day before.

But this church is also important in the history of Palestinian resistance. During the invasion of Bethlehem in the Second Intifada, a few dozen resistance fighters sought sanctuary in the church, where 200 priests and other church officials were staying. These church leaders accepted the request for sanctuary in support of the resistance, but the Israeli military shocked the world by responding with attacks on the ancient holy place. Eight Palestinians were killed, including a man shot by a sniper while tolling the church bells.

After almost 40 days of siege, Israel and the PA negotiated a settlement that saw the release and exile of most of the fighters. In addition to its religious significance, the Church of the Nativity will always remain a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

Until Liberation & Return,

USPCN
June 9, 2018