Jerusalem: Out of sight, not out of heart
Palestine, Politics, 12/26/1998

It wasn't the Christmas Palestinians in Bethlehem had expected. Very few tourists showed up and lots of hotel cancellations have struck this year's tourism season. Shop owners complained of a very limited turnover with only Palestinians from the city of Bethlehem and its vicinity showing up for the annual Christmas Eve.

"The whole atmosphere is depressing," said Khalil Kanawati, an employee in one of the dozens of souvenir shops that stretch along the road to Bethlehem. "First was the prisoner's intifada that apparently deterred tourists from coming to the Holy Land. Then came the US air strikes on Iraq which contributed to further deterioration in the general atmosphere in the Middle East."

The traffic jams through the streets of Bethlehem were as heavy as usual. One cannot tell if they were caused by the continued renovation works that are part of the Bethlehem 2000 project the Palestinian government has sponsored to prepare the city for the Millenium celebrations next year. Many cars with yellow number plates that indicate their Israeli identity drove through the city. Their passengers were mostly Palestinians from inside Israel who came to celebrate the feast and spend some money in the city.

"We believe it is our duty to help our brothers in the Occupied Territories and in the PNA areas," said Yousef Hanna, a 54-year old businessman from Nazareth. He said he drove to Bethlehem to show his children how things are changing in the Palestinian government areas as the Palestinians set foot on their way to independence. "But I was somehow disappointed," he said. "The joy I expected to see on people's faces was not there. I spoke to many who said they had no reason to celebrate as the future today seems much less promising than it did when the Israeli Army handed over the city of Bethlehem to the Palestinians four years ago."

As in every year since 1994, Palestinian government President Yasser Arafat was the chief guest attending the midnight mass in the Church of Nativity. A number of senior Palestinian government officials and of course his Christian wife, Suha, and their daughter Zahwa had joined him. "I think it is a remarkable move by the president to attend the service even though he is not a Christian," said Bashar Salameh of nearby Beit Sahour.

He added that the presidential participation in Christmas celebrations has become an annual message of national unity that the whole world can see through the television screens that air the festivities live from Bethlehem. "It is also a message of Palestinian sovereignty in the city of peace and a word that the Palestinians are determined to continue their endeavor until the Holy shrines in Jerusalem are liberated from the Israeli occupation."

Though the city of Bethlehem was liberated from the Israeli military occupation four years ago, the military presence of Israel was still obvious around the city. Israeli soldiers manned roadblocks at the entrances of Bethlehem checking ever car driving through. Their presence was yet another reminder that the Arab-Israeli conflict has not been settled yet and that still enormous efforts are needed to end the Israeli military occupation over East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Those army roadblocks, which are scattered all over the West Bank and on the entrances to Jerusalem have blocked the way of thousands of Muslim worshippers who headed Friday to East Jerusalem to hold the prayers of the first Friday of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Palestinians from the West Bank who do not have Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem cannot hold their prayers in the Al Aqsa Mosque but they still attempt to infiltrate into the city. Only few of them managed to get through while the rest had to return home and pray in mosques in their towns and villages.

Yet, despite of the closure, East Jerusalem streets were jammed from the early hours of Friday. Thousands of Palestinian Muslims from inside Israel have made their way to East Jerusalem to pray in Al Aqsa Mosque, the holiest shrine in Islam. For them, it is a matter of challenge. "We are here to make a point. Israel cannot determine the future of the Holy Shrines in Jerusalem. Not allowing our brothers from the West Bank to pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque does not give Israel the means to undermine the sacred importance of this holy shrine. Regardless of where we come from, the matter of the fact is that we, the Muslims, want to hold our prayers in the Al Aqsa Mosque and we will continue to do so regardless of what measures Israel takes."

Israel has always claimed that it supports people right to worship but it never acknowledged this right in practical means. The policy of closure and security sealing off of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has deprived thousands of Palestinians from their basic right to reach to the holy shrines in Jerusalem. Muslims and Christians alike who live in the West Bank are barred entry into Jerusalem both on normal days and in holidays as well. "It is even worse than what we had during the 27 years of military occupation in the West Bank," said Jamal Issa of Ramallah. In those years, he recalled, people could easily drive to Jerusalem any time in the day and visit all sites. Today, they are not allowed to do so. Jamal said that the last time he went to Jerusalem was more than three years ago, though the distance between Jerusalem and Ramallah is less than 20 kilometers.

A formerly security prisoner, Jamal had applied a number of times for a permit to enter Israel and East Jerusalem for work purposes but his application had been deferred repeatedly by the Israeli authorities. He did, though, visit Jordan several times through the Karameh [Allenby] Bridge. The point he wanted to make was so clear: "It is easier for Palestinians to travel abroad than visiting Jerusalem."

"But," he added, "Israel is wrong if it believes that by keeping Jerusalem out of our sight it can also keep her out of our heart."

Previous Stories:
  A view from Gaza   (12/14/1998)
  Clinton to light Christmas tree in Bethlehem   (12/9/1998)
  Arafat seeks US assurances on Israel implementing accords   (12/9/1998)

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