Sorry I have been so bad about writing. Thing shave been so crazy here ever since I arrived. I have met so many people from all over the world! God has blessed me in so many ways in just one week. I spent my first evening with a guy who showed me around the old city and even helped me sneak onto the old city wall so I could see the city at night. I wouldn't recommend the later one because it was a bit scary getting up there.
On monday I spent the day at the wailing wall and at the end of the day they had a ceremony for the latest military cadet graduates. They all looked so young, but I look 14 for my age....lol..... That night I met a guy from singapore that was planning on taking 160 blankets to a refugee camp near hebron and two dutch journalist were gonna go with him. They said I was more than welcome to go. For those who dont know....Hebron is a city in West Bank near Bethlehem. They were planning on going wednesday.
The next morning I woke up early again because I am sharing a room with 6 other girls (although it varies how many night to night). I got up to check my e-mail and one of the dutch guys came down and invited me to go with them to Ramallah. So, I threw on some clothes and before I knew it I was on a bus heading towards the West Bank ( I didn't know Ramallah was in the West Bank). We arrived and it was freezing and raining. We waited out the worst in a coffee shop and saw on the news about the demonstrations happening in Iran over the border closing in Gaza. Also, on monday all the arab shops were closed because of the issue in Gaza. For those who dont know.... Gaza has sent 150 or more rockets into israel last weekend and so Israel closed down the borders into Gaza. Keeping food, medical, electricity, and for a short time gas from going into Gaza. They still havent lifted the ban, but now Hamas has blown up the border with Egypt and thousands are going into Egypt. They are going in to get food for their families and Israel is telling Egypt to deal with the situation without their help.
After the weather calmed down we went to a shop and quickly I realized we were in a radical shop. You could buy everything from a hamas flag to a pendent for Al Quaida. The Police had just gone through there the day before and arrested 7 men and fined the shop for selling illegal radical muslim flags etc. I had no idea there were so many radical groups in palestine that are against eachother and Israel. Hamas and Fatah are not the only groups in Gaza and the west bank.
Then we saw Arafats grave and where his home stood before the Israeli military bulldozed it over. It was quite interesting and somewhat ironic being there. Then we headed up to Nablus and went through the check point to get in. Fifty some people were waiting in line to get back into Israel from the west bank. It was hard to see them standing there for hours in the rain just to get home.
Then our leader, David (the guy from singapore) took us to meet his friend who works at the main government building in Palestine. His story was definitly amazing. His family is pretty well known in the West bank because the Israeli police is constantly at their home. He has been held and interrogated several times because his brothers are wanted Hamas terrorists. They are arrested now and waiting on their sentencing. He said he has no animosity towards the israeli people, but would like to be left alone.
He gave us a tour around the old city of Nablus in the middle of the two famous mountains where Moses gave two speaches about good and bad. I am spacing the names at the moment. It was amazing to see how old it is and how narrow the streets are. He showed us where the israeli military blew up a house to make a road into the old city when they were going after terrorists in 2002. It was sad, but understandable from a military perspective.
After that we went to a refugee camp near by and met some of the children living there. It was abit unerving for me because the boys are very forward there and very open with western women in what they would like from you. Anyway, after that we headed back to Jerusalem and were able to pass the line through the check point into Israel. We all felt horrible that we didnt have to wait like the paletinians, but foreigners are always an exception in these places. It is a hard life for Palestinians here.
Well, I am gonna go, but I will try and write soon about how it went in Gaza! Also, be praying for the situation in Gaza and for the situation that just started near Ramallah. An Israeli soldier was just killed there yesterday by a
Palestinian and now the old city in Jerusalem is blocked off by police and the israeli military. They are checking every palestinians passports to see if they have a blue passport which means they are allowed in Jerusalem. A red and green one means you are not allowed to leave the west bank or gaza.
Well, i am off to Ramallah to visit a few villages near by.
