This past January, over the course of 10 days, our class of 17 visited most major cities in the West Bank and Israel. Though we spent an entire semester preparing for the trip and doing research on the conflict, we were caught off-guard by nearly everything we saw. From the wall to the checkpoints and from the settlers to the soldiers, we were finally seeing everything that we had read about, and it was not comforting.
“It’s your money,” we were told by a Palestinian living under a tarp in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. He and 52 others had been removed from their homes last August, even though they are the legal owners. He pointed to the armed settler sitting in the doorway of his former home and said to us, “You are supporting all of this.” We knew that he was right, as the United States gives Israel more military funding than any other country.
When I returned from the trip, I wanted to find out how Americans and Israelis could feel that this occupation is somehow just, so I began reading and communicating with Israelis about what we saw. But during all my research and conversations, I slowly began to realize that no matter what I read or heard from Israelis or Americans about why they feel the occupation is justified, there are some things we witnessed during our week and a half in the West Bank that simply cannot be justified. They are:
1. The location of the wall. As one Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem told us, “If Israel built a wall along the 1967 borders, that would be fine. But why are they building it in Palestinian territory?” According to a July 2009 UN report, the wall has taken 9.5 percent of the total West Bank area. Now, if this wall was truly built for security purposes, why is it being built on Palestinian land and not along the internationally recognized border?
2. The checkpoints. As of August 2009, the Israeli army had 60 checkpoints located inside the West Bank. Many of these checkpoints are located inside cities such as Hebron or outside cities such as Jerusalem. To get through some checkpoints, like those near Jerusalem, Palestinians must obtain a special permit issued by the Israeli government. Many Palestinians we met in Bethlehem spoke of how it often takes hours to get to work in Jerusalem (six miles away) because they must drive around the wall and wait through delays at checkpoints. A former Israeli soldier who worked at a checkpoint said, “The checkpoints are not always about catching terrorists. They are there to harass to the Palestinians … but not because we enjoy harassing Palestinians. No, the checkpoints are there to keep Palestinians obedient and show that we are in charge.”
3. The settlements. Every single one of the 121 settlements in the West Bank has been recognized as illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention and numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. 280,000 settlers now live in the West Bank with another 190,000 in Palestinian East Jerusalem. Settlers are the primary cause of violence in the West Bank and are the reason why so many Israeli soldiers are posted around the territory.
There are numerous examples from our trip that demonstrate how the wall, the checkpoints, the settlements, and other conditions we witnessed make a completely unacceptable situation for people to be living in. The fact, whether we like it or not, is that we hold some responsibility for what is going on. This is our money making the occupation possible.
For the fiscal year 2010, the Obama administration has requested that $2.775 billion be given to Israel in foreign military aid. I am not proposing that we cut Israel off from our foreign aid, but what I am proposing is that we make sure our money is not being used to fund an occupation. Know that since this is our money, we have the power to say how it will be used, and, by doing so, we can drastically change the situation on the ground for the Palestinians.
The Heights > Letters to the Editor
A student perspective on an international crisis
Published: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Updated: Thursday, February 25, 2010 01:02
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