The tomb of the Patriarchs
No, this article will not talk about hot spots, nor will it contain recommendations for fantastic hotels. You won't find restaurant suggestions either. I am sorry. This chronicle is about magical places over which, however, drama and despair hangs over. He talks about ancient cities where each stone has a story to tell, about hospitable people always ready to offer tea in front of which to share a good conversation, he talks about things that are difficult to imagine but that you have to see to understand, even if only a little, this nonsense that is the Middle East conflict.
First question: is it safe to travel to Palestine? Because I already see the frightened eyes and the contained exclamations of some, the same ones, I confess, that I would have put only a few months ago. First of all, what is now known as the Palestinian territories comprises two very different areas: Loop, a real mousetrap controlled by Hamas of just over 45 kilometers, where more than a million and a half people are crowded. It's not very safe to go in there. The second is West Bank, which encompasses most of that oft-proposed autonomous Palestinian state, where, among other places, is the city where Jesus Christ was born, Bethlehem, the oldest city in the world, Jericho, and the ancient city of Hebron . In this case the answer is that, today, yes, it is safe. Of course you have to keep an eye on breaking news and border closures, but in general it is. Another thing is how to get there because you necessarily enter the West Bank from Israel. And here the problems begin:
“There is nothing to see there”, “Why do you want to go? There is only cement” . These are the phrases that the Israelis will repeatedly repeat to you at the "pilgrim" idea of visiting the West Bank. Very few Israelis have ever traveled to Palestine, a lack of initiative justified by fear of potential aggression by the Arabs. I can understand the Jews: there are too many centuries of hatred against them, too many missiles launched from Gaza. Yet on the other side of their high-tech, secure world, Arabs are also constantly harassed and abused. I have seen it.
Nor will it be very easy to find someone to take you and most car rental companies are prohibited from entering the West Bank with the exception of Green Peace , so using the bus service between the two territories is a good option. If despite all these inconveniences your adventurous spirit has not declined, read on.
Luckily for me, I head to the West Bank in a vehicle with a diplomatic license plate owned by some friends temporarily residing in Tel Aviv, which makes it much easier for us to pass through the Israeli checkpoints (the famous "check points") that dot the Jewish-built wall between Israel and the future Palestinian state. Very young soldiers, heavily armed, ask us for our passports on several occasions. Despite how fierce they are painted, they are very friendly and even offer us water and food . I can't help but think of the number of young Israelis I have encountered during my wanderings in India, a journey many of them take after compulsory military service (three years for men and two for women), a kind of “exorcism” of the mind. Now I understand, it can't be too good for your head to be armed to the teeth at nineteen.
With some difficulties, the signs and indications leave a lot to be desired, we arrive at Hebron, the jewel of the West Bank, where the tomb of the Patriarchs is located - the common grave of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob together with their wives - which makes it a holy place for Jews, Christians and Muslims . A dubious privilege, since it is precisely this sacred character that makes this beautiful city a nest of religious tensions and violence.
In Hebron there are four settlements of Israeli settlers literally "embedded", as Mario Vargas Llosa said, in the heart of the city. These settlers are, for the most part, radical religious militants, convinced that they are there to fulfill divine prophecy according to which the Jews will one day establish Israel in the whole of Palestine. There are 500 settlers and there are 4,000 Israeli soldiers to protect them. We hired a local guide hoping to understand something of this intricate and complex puzzle. The military presence in the city is almost offensive, never in my life have I seen so many soldiers together, never so aggressive in the environment, never so many looks of hostility.
Aziz (name assumed to protect his identity) was born in Hebron 20 years ago. He left school convinced that there would not be a decent future for him in a land eternally in conflict anyway, and since then he has been an occasional guide for tourists who venture to visit the ancient city. We entered it through the security complex to get to an imposing old town of ottoman architecture . Aziz shows us the doomed entrance of the old souk , one of the treasures of the city, closed by the Israelis for security reasons after the riots that took place during the second intifada.
A look inside allows you to guess the splendor of other times when merchants and customers negotiated according to ancient customs. Since its closure, businesses have moved to the outside of it. Aziz tells us that one of the Jewish settler settlements is located just above the market. The Arab residents have been progressively displaced to the outside of the city and it is the ultra-Orthodox Jews who have occupied the houses. The merchants have placed a net between the houses and the market area to prevent eggs and bottles from being thrown at them. On the network remains of packaging and other crap confirm it.
We speak with Aziz and with other Palestinians, who, after offering us the obligatory cup of tea, tell us about their daily hardships in an occupied city from which leaving or entering can be a real headache , without counting the insults that the Jews constantly dedicate to them, emboldened by the presence of the Israeli army. Curiously, I don't see hate in their eyes, but rather despair and an assumed resignation. “Is there a solution for this? No”, is the almost unanimous response of all. But everyone agrees, despite the ruin of their businesses, despite the harsh living conditions, that they will not leave here. “That is what the Israelis intend with the settlement policy. But this is our land and we will stay no matter what it takes”, says one of the merchants.
I continue my tour of the Palestinian craft stalls and buy a sackcloth cat for my daughter, crude but with the charm that a Barbie or a Kitty will never have. In the same shop I meet Ellie Cee, a young aid worker from the International Solidarity Movement, a movement that organizes non-violent protests and is in charge of monitoring possible abuses by Israeli soldiers against the Arab population. Ellie confesses to me that she never imagined that her mission in Palestine would be so hard: “What infuriates me the most is the attitude of the soldiers with the children”. Ellie tells us that Arab children are frequently arrested on their way to school: “There was a brutal one the other day. You can see it on YouTube: “30 children arrested on their way to school”.
Aziz rushes us, he wants to show us something important: we go up a narrow street until we reach a very old house with claustrophobic stairs. One of the oldest families in the city of Hebron lives there. They have tried many times to kick them out given the privileged position of the property, but their iron determination has prevented it, for the time being. We went up to the terrace accompanied by the youngest daughter of the family, Aqsa, hoping to find a sublime view of the city, perhaps an impossible sunset. What we see is something very different: less than ten meters away is an Israeli sniper stationed on the roof , which controls the movements of the inhabitants day and night.
It's getting late and we still have to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the cave of Machpelah where the mosque of Abraham is located. To access the heavily guarded compound, shoes must be removed and women must cover their heads. Judaism considers this place to be the second holy place after the Temple of Jerusalem, as it is the first piece of land in the country of Canaan (the Promised Land) purchased by Abraham. According to Jewish tradition, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah are buried here. Islam also considers Abraham to be a prophet who, according to the Koran, built the Kaaba in Mecca with his son Ishmael.
It was here that, during the Jewish holiday of Purim in 1994, the Jewish fanatic Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinians as they prayed in the mosque. 29 dead and more than 200 wounded are the result of this dramatic chapter in Hebron's already bloody history.
Our next destination is Belen , that city so present for all Christians at Christmas time and that houses such emblematic places as the place where Jesus Christ was born. but about this I will tell you in a second installment that we have had enough for today.
Dedicated to Silvia, Stephan and Edgar, my perfect hosts. Without them I would never have known Palestine the way I did.