Putting down asphalt at the gap in The Wall at Dahiet al-Bariid - no information available to the residents of this area or to the tens of thousands who transit here daily

There is still NO INFORMATION at all about what is happening at the gap in The Wall (between what will be the West Bank and northern Jerusalem) at Dahiet al-Bariid. There are only rumors.
Maybe it will be closed before Ramadan (which will start on 1 September). Maybe it will be closed at some [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

Tulkarem District - former “breadbasket” of Palestine

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

Today at the opening in The Wall in Dahiet al-Bariid

This morning, when I woke up, it was impossible to make coffee. There was no electricity.
When I went out, I found that the whole street was out of electricity (but not the Tibi house around
the corner). The grocer on the corner had no electricity either, and he was worried about his freezer full [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

The wasteland between Jerusalem and Ramallah

This is the main way between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
The road just beside The Wall was closed by Israeli security yet again today, for the addition of more security measures before Ramadan (the 30-day month of fasting expected to start this year on 1 September), when Palestinians desperately want to go to pray at [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

The Wall is still open in Dahiet al-Bariid

Nobody knows anything, of course. Why should we know? It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or feels, or how their lives will be affected.
The tension and the stress and the incertitude continue, without any information.
Until this weekend, it was thought that it would be closed by the 15th of August. But that [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

Just coming home — Dahiet al-Bariid

I wrote this before, but seeing is believing.
And, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Ladies and gentlemen, anyone entering my little neighborhood is putting his/her life at risk.
The sign reads:
MORTAL DANGER - MILITARY ZONE
ANY PERSON WHO ENTERS OR DAMAGES THE FENCE
ENDANGERS HIS LIFE
A lawyer might say this sign gives rather broad discretionary powers to those [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

Monday in Dahiet al-Bariid - The Wall is still open

It is Monday, and The Wall is still open.
Workers are, however, busy stringing a second strand of razor barbed-wire on the Jerusalem side of The Wall.

The work seems to be taking some time — it has been going on for nearly two weeks already.

There are not even any Israeli Border Police or security guarding the [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

The Wall — and my neighbors being immured

The Associated Press has just posted this photo of the present situation in my neighborhood:

This photo is interesting for several reasons:
(1) the main intrigue is that the woman is rather exposed. My next door neighbor puts on her scarf and robe to hang out her laundry. It is rare to see this state [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

Problems entering Bethlehem through Checkpoint 300 - the Rachel’s Tomb crossing.

I went to Bethlehem Thursday afternoon, and was held at the checkpoint for TWO HOURS waiting to get INTO the West Bank.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) liaison office in Tel Aviv, which is supposed to coordinate and facilitate access for foreign press, spent all that time negotiating with the Israeli Border police in order to [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati

“Israel keen to crack down on East Jerusalem”

This morning, I decided I would make a good try to buy some kaak - a delicious foot-long oval of chewy white bread (maybe it could be described as a cross between a bagel and a French baguette) completely covered with toasted sesame seeds.
The man who sells the kaak in our Twilight Zone used to [...]

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati