"What is so special about Nablus?"
Hello, I just travelled from Nablus to Ramallah, which on a good day is no more than an hour, or an hour and a half drive. Of course, on a bad day, who knows, it could take you all day, or worse; the key of course is getting past the checkpoints that lie between them, particularly Huwwara checkpoint. Myself and a random collection of Swedish ISMers got through Huwwara without a problem, and it kind of looks like what Qalandia checkpoint looked like 2 years ago; bars, cages, concrete barriers, a makeshift roof and areas for cars and buses to be stopped as well. When I arrived in Nablus a week ago, it was a rainy not so pleasant day, which was probably one reason that the soldiers were shouting at the Palestinians trying to leave Nablus; it was a pretty ugly scene. Once an Israeli told me that in the army they learn what he called "oppressor arabic;" shouting various commands, get up, stop, turn around, open the door, etc. Really, what do you expect when you give an 18-20 year old boy a rifle and have he/she spend the next few years holding the power of life and death over another people that they know little about?
So, through Huwwara we went, with minimal comment from the soldiers; once an Irish girl I was travelling with was asked by the soldier; are you from Ireland? Do you drink beer? Anyway, we got a van and a Palestinan man joined us, so off we went... until we reached the next checkpoint, at the village of Zaatara. There the van driver nervously collected our passports and brought them up to the soldier before driving then van up, ran back and then brought the van up to the checkpoint. The soldier then noticed that there was a Palestinian man in the van and his ID was not with the passports that had been brought to him. He asked him "why did you not include your ID, why" in very gruff, patronizing (to say the least) tone. Hell, this kid could not have beena day over 21, sounded like he was Russian, and he was talking to this man who was obviously middle aged like he was some stupid child; but, the Palestinian man responded calmly, intelligently, and in much better english "you did not ask for it, you only asked for the passports, if you want my ID, you can ask for it and I will give it to you." Seeing that he was not going to intimidate him, and probably a bit unnerved in the presence of 6 internationals emerging from Nablus, he then turned to us, well, me since I was closest. He asked me, "where did you come from" and I said "from Nablus" (One thing you learn fast, it's to keep your answers short and simple, no need to go into details!). He then said "what's so special about Nablus?" in such a condesending tone; so I replied, well, it is an old city. Now, those familiar with Nablus know that it is true, it is an old city; but it was also a joke of sorts, because the arabic name Nablus derives from the original Roman name for the city, Neopolis, which actually means "New City." But of cours when he said that, his attitude was like, "why did you go to there, what's so special about the ghetto?" But, without further ado and us stating we were going to Jerusalem (which we weren't) we were off.
After some venting and cursing of the soldier, the Palestinan man, who was in the front seat turned to us and said, "so, what IS so special about Nablus?" Of course we laughed, and he introduced himself; his name is Khaled and he runs a Pizza restaurant in Abu Dis. He then told us that he was just returning after his first visit to Nablus in 5 years. His friend who lives there is unable to travel to Abu Dis, and he was unable to get to Nablus during the Intifada. This is a common story throughout Palestine, as the Israeli army and settler "matrix of control" in the words of Jeff Halper (ICAHD), slice up the territory into cantons and limit the ability of Palestinans to travel from place to place. And of course, this is a process that began not a year ago, and not a few years ago, but in earnest since the times of "peace." Altough settlements began in the hours after the 1967 war, and increased dramatically from the late 70's on, nothing could compare to the settlement and settlement infrastructure (roads, walls, etc) expansion of the Oslo era; that is where the obvious on the ground scheme for ethnic and national separation began, and it has not stopped since.
So now I am in Ramallah and awake at a truly ridiculous hour; that's what you get when you do olive picking for 3 days, the last one from 6:30 AM onwards! it was hard work, but so worth it. But more on that later, gotta go!
-here is the article I referenced by Jeff Halper
http://www.mediamonitors.net/halper1.html
The Matrix of Control by Jeff Halper
The Japanese and East Asians have a game called "Go." Unlike the Western game of chess, where two opponents try to "defeat" each other by taking off pieces, the aim of "Go" is completely different. You "win" not by defeating but by immobilizing your opponent by controlling key points on the matrix. This strategy was used effectively in Vietnam, where small forces of Viet Cong were able to pin down and virtually paralyze some half-million American soldiers possessing overwhelming fire-power.
In effect Israel has done the same thing to the Palestinians on the West Bank, Gaza and in East Jerusalem. Since 1967 it has put into place a matrix, similar to that of the "Go" board, that has virtually paralyzed the Palestinian population. The matrix is composed of several overlapping layers. cont'd at http://www.mac.com//redirect/http://www.mediamonitors.net/halper1.html
So, through Huwwara we went, with minimal comment from the soldiers; once an Irish girl I was travelling with was asked by the soldier; are you from Ireland? Do you drink beer? Anyway, we got a van and a Palestinan man joined us, so off we went... until we reached the next checkpoint, at the village of Zaatara. There the van driver nervously collected our passports and brought them up to the soldier before driving then van up, ran back and then brought the van up to the checkpoint. The soldier then noticed that there was a Palestinian man in the van and his ID was not with the passports that had been brought to him. He asked him "why did you not include your ID, why" in very gruff, patronizing (to say the least) tone. Hell, this kid could not have beena day over 21, sounded like he was Russian, and he was talking to this man who was obviously middle aged like he was some stupid child; but, the Palestinian man responded calmly, intelligently, and in much better english "you did not ask for it, you only asked for the passports, if you want my ID, you can ask for it and I will give it to you." Seeing that he was not going to intimidate him, and probably a bit unnerved in the presence of 6 internationals emerging from Nablus, he then turned to us, well, me since I was closest. He asked me, "where did you come from" and I said "from Nablus" (One thing you learn fast, it's to keep your answers short and simple, no need to go into details!). He then said "what's so special about Nablus?" in such a condesending tone; so I replied, well, it is an old city. Now, those familiar with Nablus know that it is true, it is an old city; but it was also a joke of sorts, because the arabic name Nablus derives from the original Roman name for the city, Neopolis, which actually means "New City." But of cours when he said that, his attitude was like, "why did you go to there, what's so special about the ghetto?" But, without further ado and us stating we were going to Jerusalem (which we weren't) we were off.
After some venting and cursing of the soldier, the Palestinan man, who was in the front seat turned to us and said, "so, what IS so special about Nablus?" Of course we laughed, and he introduced himself; his name is Khaled and he runs a Pizza restaurant in Abu Dis. He then told us that he was just returning after his first visit to Nablus in 5 years. His friend who lives there is unable to travel to Abu Dis, and he was unable to get to Nablus during the Intifada. This is a common story throughout Palestine, as the Israeli army and settler "matrix of control" in the words of Jeff Halper (ICAHD), slice up the territory into cantons and limit the ability of Palestinans to travel from place to place. And of course, this is a process that began not a year ago, and not a few years ago, but in earnest since the times of "peace." Altough settlements began in the hours after the 1967 war, and increased dramatically from the late 70's on, nothing could compare to the settlement and settlement infrastructure (roads, walls, etc) expansion of the Oslo era; that is where the obvious on the ground scheme for ethnic and national separation began, and it has not stopped since.
So now I am in Ramallah and awake at a truly ridiculous hour; that's what you get when you do olive picking for 3 days, the last one from 6:30 AM onwards! it was hard work, but so worth it. But more on that later, gotta go!
-here is the article I referenced by Jeff Halper
http://www.mediamonitors.net/halper1.html
The Matrix of Control by Jeff Halper
The Japanese and East Asians have a game called "Go." Unlike the Western game of chess, where two opponents try to "defeat" each other by taking off pieces, the aim of "Go" is completely different. You "win" not by defeating but by immobilizing your opponent by controlling key points on the matrix. This strategy was used effectively in Vietnam, where small forces of Viet Cong were able to pin down and virtually paralyze some half-million American soldiers possessing overwhelming fire-power.
In effect Israel has done the same thing to the Palestinians on the West Bank, Gaza and in East Jerusalem. Since 1967 it has put into place a matrix, similar to that of the "Go" board, that has virtually paralyzed the Palestinian population. The matrix is composed of several overlapping layers. cont'd at http://www.mac.com//redirect/http://www.mediamonitors.net/halper1.html
posted by Jontheantizionistjew at 9:27 PM
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