December 02

Chris Doyle (Former MAP Trustee and Director of CAABU)

"I have just got back from a delegation to Israel and the West Bank. The situation on the ground is as grim as ever. Settlements are flourishing. The wall is still being built, albeit perhaps at a slower rate than before. Checkpoints and obstacles to movement have increased since Annapolis by 12%. The economy remains paralyzed. Israel had restarted a series of house demolitions above all in East Jerusalem, the remnants of which the delegation went to visit. We were not able to go to Gaza, but the situation there looks bleaker than ever. The possible election of "Bibi" Netanyahu also does not bode well for any progress.

Perhaps the most distressing sight was our visit to see the Al Kurd Family. Umm Kamel and her husband had been evicted from their home of 50 years in the neighbourhood of Shaikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem. Her husband had to go to hospital. She and her friends set up a protest tent, which the Jerusalem municipality viewed as illegal, and fined her 430 Israeli Shekels a day. A little over an hour after the delegation met with her, Israeli police moved in and the tent was dismantled by crane. New sit-in tents were put up and the protest continued. Most tragic of all, her husband passed away three days after we left the West Bank. Her story resonated throughout Jerusalem's Palestinian community and beyond.

However, amid the gloom perhaps there are a few strands (little more!) of hope to cling on too. Both the Israeli government and the PA expressed the view that relations were very close and that negotiations were proceeding, on the basis of not revealing where they have reached in their talks. There are 14 joint committees working at the moment. The IDF acknowledged that the security situation was significantly better, and that they were pleased to see PA forces in Jenin and now in Hebron. This had meant a decrease in IDF activity in these cities. There is hope that this might be extended to Bethlehem as well".