Some Background Info

I haven't posted for awhile--partly because I was in class all of last week and partly because I needed a break from talking about my trip. I've spent a lot of time thinking and processing and I finally feel ready to tell some of the stories.

Plus, I "dumped" a whole bunch of pictures on Facebook with no explanations and I didn't want to do that here. 

First of all, here is some important "lingo" for you to know. I should have posted this BEFORE my trip, but I was too busy trying to prevent an anxiety attack! =)

"Nakba": An Arabic word, "catastrophe," used to describe the events that took place in 1948 when Zionists proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. In 1948, Israel took over a land that was filled with Palestinian peoples. The Israeli army deported a million Palestinians from their cities and villages, massacred civilians, and razed to the ground hundreds of Palestinian villages. Those Palestinians who were not forcibly removed from their homes usually fled out of fear. Zionists then destroyed or inhabited these "abandoned" homes. For more information on the Nakba, click here. 

"Green Line": The Green Line refers to the international boundary line that was agreed upon after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It delineated the boundary line of the new state of Israel. In 1967, Israel invaded Gaza and the West Bank and has occupied those Palestinian territories ever since. (Gaza is the strip on the left of the map and the West Bank is the area on the right of the map between the Sea of Galilee in the north and the Dead Sea in the south.)

"Settlements": Once Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank, they began confiscating land from Palestinians. One way of doing this is by sending in the military and establishing a "closed military zone." The militarized zone, even though it is on Palestinian land, cannot be accessed by Palestinians. Soon after, the militarized zones are spotted with settler outposts and the settler outposts grow into settlements. Settlers are Jews who move to the West Bank illegally. Some Jews settle there because it is cheap land and the houses are subsidized. (One of the CPT staff told us that settlers can get a house near Bethlehem for around $100,000.) Other Jews settle there because they are ideological settlers and they believe the land was given to them in the Bible. 

The settlements are heavily guarded by Israeli soldiers and it is estimated that, in Hebron, soldiers outnumber settlers 3:1. The soldiers are there to protect settlers from Palestinian "terrorists." 

The settlements also control all the water. For example, Tuwani and Tuba, two Palestinian villages, have a large Jewish settlement between them called Ma'On. Neither Tuwani nor Tuba have running water, however, Ma'On has not only running water, but enough water to irrigate cherry orchards and fill their swimming pools. Ma'On also has electricity. Tuba has NO electricity (although Omar's family had one solar panel on top of their cave that they use to charge their video camera from B'tselem) and Tuwani only has electricity for a couple of hours each night that comes from a generator. (Below: Tuwani is the small village on the left and Ma'On is the settlement on the hill on the right, Bottom: A closer view of Ma'On)