Jan Benvie, Christian Peacemaker Teams, 21 June 2007
“Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm contrary to the commitments undertaken in a number of Agreements between the GOI [government of Israel] and the PA” [Palestinian Authority]
– World Bank Report, May 2007
Working here in Hebron, in the Israeli controlled H2 area, I see daily examples of the Israeli military restricting “freedom of movement and access”. Palestinians are arbitrarily stopped and detained by the Israeli military at checkpoints. A visit to a friend across the street can involve a 20-30 minute walk because of the gates and fences erected by the Israeli military around Palestinian areas.
Access to East Jerusalem (illegally annexed by Israel in 1967) is severely restricted for Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Palestinians must apply to the Israeli authorities for a special permit to travel to Jerusalem, and permission is rarely granted.
Another way in which ‘freedom of movement and access” is restricted here in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is through an Apartheid-type road system. Israeli registered vehicles have yellow number plates; Palestinian vehicles green or white. The Israeli authorities prevent Palestinian registered vehicles from using many roads, forcing them to use poorly maintained roads and circuitous routes. The system of registration also enables the Israeli military to stop Palestinian vehicles at the numerous checkpoints throughout the Palestinian Territories, while allowing Israeli vehicles to pass freely.
My home city of Dundee (Scotland) has been twinned with Nablus since 1980, so a few weeks ago I traveled from Hebron to Nablus. Traveling by the most direct route the journey is about 56 miles. At home a journey of a little over an hour.
Traveling by Palestinian transport it took me over 3 hours to reach Nablus.
I was lucky. Of the eight Israeli military checkpoints that we passed, four were not in use that day, the Israeli military stopped the bus at one checkpoint for ten minutes and made it slow down at two others. Since 2002, it has only been possible to enter or exit Nablus by foot, passing through one of six Israeli military checkpoints, so, along with my fellow travelers I exited the bus, walked through the Huwara checkpoint and rode a taxi into the center of Nablus.
At the end of my visit I was able, with my UK passport, to leave easily. The worst I had to endure was a five minute delay at the hands of a sarcastic young Israeli soldier. Palestinian men aged between 16 and 45 (the age range varies from day to day) can only exit their city with a special permit that can be obtained only outside Nablus.
Throughout my journey I was within the West Bank. At no time did I travel across the Green Line, the internationally recognized border between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
It is not often that I agree with the World Bank. “Currently, freedom of movement and access for Palestinians within the West Bank is the exception rather than the norm”
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT’s peacemaking work, visit our website www.cpt.org
Photos of our projects are at www.cpt.org/gallery
A map of the center of Hebron is here ( .pdf ).
The same map is the last page of this report on closures in Hebron:
www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/ochaHU0705_En.pdf