~Wi'am Center for Conflict Resolution, Bethlehem

Our delegation left Palestine having been given one commission by the Palestinian people: “Tell our stories. Make sure people know what is happening to us.” That is the purpose of this trip report: to tell the story of people living under an intense military occupation, but a people with an intense amount of hope. Hope that this too shall pass.

The Palestinians living in the region that is most often referred to as the West Bank are treated as second class citizens, and in some instances as being no better than dogs. However, these are not the Palestinians that I met during our delegation. I met Palestinians who want nothing more than to be treated as equals with Israelis, to reconcile their differences and live together peacefully under a one-state solution. I am awed and amazed at the spirit of the Palestinian people, who want no revenge on their oppressors, but peace and co-existence with them.

How would you feel if at the end of a day of work, you don't know if your house will still be standing when you drive down your street because of a military order of demolition that has been placed on it, and twice you have experienced your house being torn down because it is deemed too close to the nearby Israeli settlement (without compensation for your land or home)? How would you feel if your belongings were searched and you had to pass through a metal detector in order to pray in your church? Then, once in your church, you were watched by 26 surveillance cameras, just to make sure to you weren't planning any terrorist attacks during your time of prayer. Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, two-thirds of your church has been given over to the nation occupying your land and forming illegal settlements.

There is no way around the fact that Israel is breaking international law by placing settlements within the territory it is occupying, the West Bank. Israel has 200 settlements in the West Bank, with 240,000 settlers living in West Bank settlements, and 180,000 settlers in East Jerusalem settlements. This land has been illegally confiscated by Israel from Palestinians in an unprecedented land grab.

Hebron is where I experienced the most intense understanding of the military occupation and settlement movement. In Hebron there are 500 settlers, 400-500 Israeli Defense Force soldiers, and 140,000 Palestinians. During our time in Hebron, two settler families welded themselves into their homes in the overtaken Hebron wholesale market in H2 (the area of Hebron under full Israeli military control). The settlers welded themselves in because they were ordered to move out by the Israeli government. It is important to note that these two settler families were not ordered out of their homes because they were living in a settlement that violated international law. No, they were ordered out because they had illegally expanded that settlement to the homes they were living in, which is considered illegal under Israeli law. The other settlers living in the area were not evicted.

Israel wants the world to think that they are dealing with the problems they are having with settlers in the West Bank by the three-ring circus that went into evicting these two families. However, a day later four Palestinian shopkeepers were ordered out of their shops, and their shops were welded shut. By what order and to what end, no military personnel could give an answer. "Just following orders." During this process, an unknown individual went around the other side of the military vehicle and painted "Free Palestine" on it. The military attributed this to the work of CPT. While the full-time CPTers and delegates alike denied involvement in the spray-painting, the soldiers said they were still responsible because they distracted them from their work.

Where is the hope in all this messiness? The hope is with the children. The children are not only the future leaders of whatever the situation may be, they are the present hope for building an understanding between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers occupying H2, Hebron Old City. At one time, the Palestinian children living in H2 were not allowed to play soccer. However, a Palestinian friend of CPT negotiated with the Commanding Officer of the post across the street from the CPT apartment to allow the children to play soccer in the street in front of the apartment from 4-7 PM, every day (cars don't drive on this street). The soldiers like to watch the children playing soccer from their post on the top of the building on the opposite side of the street. This became an opening. The CPT friend told the soldiers from across rooftops to please keep their guns out of the sight of the children when they watch them, because the sight of the guns scares the children. The soldiers do so. A rapport has developed.

While our delegation was present in Hebron the children were playing soccer and some settlers were coming on the other side of the fence with some stones to throw at the children. The soldier on the rooftop warned the children that the settlers were coming and told them to get away from the fence. He then went and told the settlers to leave the area.

This soldier stopped a daily occurrence in Hebron, where Palestinian men, women and children are harassed by Israeli settlers who spit on them, throw stones at them, and from above throw sand, acid water, and urine down on as they walk through town. One person does have the power to make a positive impact in the lives of others, whether they are a peace activist, friend of CPT, or even an Israeli soldier.