would you get Israeli Defense Force soldiers, protecting Palestinian children, from Israeli settler-colonists.
I decided to post this link because I actually visited Hirbat Al-Tuwani last summer. It's a tiny rural village, and I mean tiny (around 200 people). We were told about the problems with settler-colonists while there, who are apparently not even Israelis per se, but Jewish immigrants from America and France (although I do realize Israel is a nation of Jewish immigrants).
The saddest thing is that this village is so tiny and relatively isolated, that these people didn't even really care about the rest of Palestine, let alone anywhere else in the world. They just went about their lives, which in most cases meant farming the land. Then one day a settlement sprang up on a nearby hilltop, and now they can't tend their own land (- this was the place where settlers-colonists poisoned the water wells and grazing land -) and their kids can't even get to school safely.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Palestinian Shorts
Short posts...you can't wear shorts in the West Bank. It's just not appropriate!
After a week in which lots happened, I've spent this week doing very little. The big news in fact, is that the damn mosquitoes are back! They really are my arch nemesis here. This time though, I'm armed with a trusty plastic fly-swatter provided by my landlady. Quake in fear vampiric little bugs - your end is near!!
For those who need to waste some time, have you every thought about whether there really are such things as British intellectuals?
Also, I know this has been around for a while, but why not check out this web-site after it has been Gizoogle'd. 5 seconds of fun fo' sho'.
After a week in which lots happened, I've spent this week doing very little. The big news in fact, is that the damn mosquitoes are back! They really are my arch nemesis here. This time though, I'm armed with a trusty plastic fly-swatter provided by my landlady. Quake in fear vampiric little bugs - your end is near!!
For those who need to waste some time, have you every thought about whether there really are such things as British intellectuals?
Also, I know this has been around for a while, but why not check out this web-site after it has been Gizoogle'd. 5 seconds of fun fo' sho'.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Results
Well the votes were counted and Hamas came out winners with 23 of the 51 seats on council. Fatah got 18 and PFLP got a respectable 5 as the third placed party. I didn't actually make it out to campus for the announcement, although I did hear that the Hamas supporters were celebrating elsewhere anyway to avoid potential confrontation.
Speaking of which...
Few major events at the University of Birzeit (graduations, final exams, student elections) escape the close attentions of the Israel Defense Forces (sic), which, in its unstinting efforts to protect the Israeli public from the "terrorists" who come here to study such things as Architectural Engineering, English or Commerce, decided to make a brief appearance too yesterday.
As is the usual practice, six jeeps stopped along the road which runs along the bottom of the university (the Uni is at the top of a hill) and, since it was lunch time, some of the university's male population raced down there and begun to throw rocks before too long. This gave the army a pretext to begin shooting rubber bullets, which got everyone's attention on campus - well, that and a couple of explosions (it really is like theatre, including the large audience that assembles to watch). After a few more minutes of this, the army suddenly started firing automatic weapons (machine guns), which is when things started to get a little hairier, automatic weapons being far less discriminating with regards to where the bullets end up. There is also an army protocol with regards to their use, so they have to be threatened in a certain way before they start spraying them around. However, thankfully they left soon after that, which gave the already excitable electorate even more reason to march around chanting.
As for the results, I don't think anyone is terribly surprised. Prior to the Fatah victory last year, which was widely seen as piggy-backing the sympathy over Arafat's death, Hamas had won the previous ten years. Aside from the US opposition -> Hamas support factor, one person told me they voted Hamas, even though they voted for Fatah in the general elections, because they didn't like the hooligan-style antics of the Fatah party on campus. (This included one member bringing a gun on to campus last summer and threatening students, leading to the closure of the campus as a safety measure and then due to protests).
I don't know if there were any celebrations last night, but campus has returned to normal today, and the continuing hot weather certainly doesn't encourage spending too much time in the sun.
Speaking of which...
Few major events at the University of Birzeit (graduations, final exams, student elections) escape the close attentions of the Israel Defense Forces (sic), which, in its unstinting efforts to protect the Israeli public from the "terrorists" who come here to study such things as Architectural Engineering, English or Commerce, decided to make a brief appearance too yesterday.
As is the usual practice, six jeeps stopped along the road which runs along the bottom of the university (the Uni is at the top of a hill) and, since it was lunch time, some of the university's male population raced down there and begun to throw rocks before too long. This gave the army a pretext to begin shooting rubber bullets, which got everyone's attention on campus - well, that and a couple of explosions (it really is like theatre, including the large audience that assembles to watch). After a few more minutes of this, the army suddenly started firing automatic weapons (machine guns), which is when things started to get a little hairier, automatic weapons being far less discriminating with regards to where the bullets end up. There is also an army protocol with regards to their use, so they have to be threatened in a certain way before they start spraying them around. However, thankfully they left soon after that, which gave the already excitable electorate even more reason to march around chanting.
As for the results, I don't think anyone is terribly surprised. Prior to the Fatah victory last year, which was widely seen as piggy-backing the sympathy over Arafat's death, Hamas had won the previous ten years. Aside from the US opposition -> Hamas support factor, one person told me they voted Hamas, even though they voted for Fatah in the general elections, because they didn't like the hooligan-style antics of the Fatah party on campus. (This included one member bringing a gun on to campus last summer and threatening students, leading to the closure of the campus as a safety measure and then due to protests).
I don't know if there were any celebrations last night, but campus has returned to normal today, and the continuing hot weather certainly doesn't encourage spending too much time in the sun.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
The Election Section Redux (The Return of Ray Von)
With everything else going on in this part of the world, one annual event which may have been overshadowed in the international press, but is nonetheless making headlines here is the annual student council elections at the University of Birzeit. Each year, the 7000 strong student body elect a council according to proportional representation. I bumped into a friend last night who told me about the candidate debate today, so I decided to make the trip to the University to see what it was all about.
Entrance to the campus is unusually tight, and apparently has been for the last week or so. (This is due to last year's gunfire - of the celebratory kind - after Fatah won. Traditionally Hamas has dominated the elections/student council). I met a friend after arriving, who showed me around, pointed out which party was which, and translated the proceedings once they got going. There are seven parties running this year. Every party, bar one, is affiliated with one of the major political parties. However, they all have different names. So the Fatah group are called 'The Guys' and Hamas is called 'The Islamic Collective'. Islamic Jihad, the PFLP (split into 2 groups), Muhadara (Barghouti's party) and the group independent of any political party (whose name escapes me) made up the numbers.
The reason for the nomenclature is historical. Prior to the Palestinian Authority's arrival in 1994, political parties were banned by the Israeli Occupation Authorities. Therefore all of the groups had to make up names so they could disclaim affiliation when they needed to. Since the elections have been running for a number of years now, and happen every year, they are seen as an important indicator of the current political mood among the Palestinian population. (The general election in January was the first truly democratic one Palestine has had, and there was only one other election besides this one).
The student elections are also a real spectacle! (Lights, camera, action!)
Before the debate, all of the parties and their more ardent supporters marched towards a stage that had been erected for the purpose of the debate. The entire university closes down for two hours while the debate goes on - even the staff are given the time off - so there are plenty of dis/interested spectators. Many students proudly display their allegiance - each party has a different colour - and there are plenty of flags for people to wave. Fatah and Hamas are, conspicuously, the largest parties in terms of support. This was also reflected in the debate - if you could call it that.
Each leader was given 5 minutes to speak, and then someone from the university administration asked all the candidates questions, which they had to answer within 3 minutes. The presentations involved every party criticising Fatah and Hamas for fighting with each other all the time, except for Fatah and Hamas, who just criticised their main rival. Then, when asked what they would do about student affairs, they all began to talk about the national political situation. In fact, the candidates talked a lot about the national situation and very little about the university or the issues students face specifically!
Quite notably, all parties (including Fatah) condoned yesterday's suicide bombing, except Muhadara (and they didn't exactly condemn it!) Each time this happened, the reaction was far less equivocal than this article would make you think. The candidates for Hamas and Fatah were passionate orators, and the PFLP group also did well, because Ahmad Sadat's daughter was speaking for them. (Ahmad Sadat is the leader of the PLFP, who was in the Jericho jail that was raided last month. He was captured, and is now in an Israeli jail).
However, quite unexpectedly the sun came out, and the heat combined with the amount of time I had to stand led to a premature exit. I certainly wasn't the only one who was tired, although I was probably one of the few people who got sun-burnt!
The elections are tomorrow. The word on campus is that America's current crusade against Hamas is making Hamas very popular amongst the Palestinian students. The flip side - America's support for Fatah - is having the opposite effect. We shall see - results come out at 8 or 9pm.
Entrance to the campus is unusually tight, and apparently has been for the last week or so. (This is due to last year's gunfire - of the celebratory kind - after Fatah won. Traditionally Hamas has dominated the elections/student council). I met a friend after arriving, who showed me around, pointed out which party was which, and translated the proceedings once they got going. There are seven parties running this year. Every party, bar one, is affiliated with one of the major political parties. However, they all have different names. So the Fatah group are called 'The Guys' and Hamas is called 'The Islamic Collective'. Islamic Jihad, the PFLP (split into 2 groups), Muhadara (Barghouti's party) and the group independent of any political party (whose name escapes me) made up the numbers.
The reason for the nomenclature is historical. Prior to the Palestinian Authority's arrival in 1994, political parties were banned by the Israeli Occupation Authorities. Therefore all of the groups had to make up names so they could disclaim affiliation when they needed to. Since the elections have been running for a number of years now, and happen every year, they are seen as an important indicator of the current political mood among the Palestinian population. (The general election in January was the first truly democratic one Palestine has had, and there was only one other election besides this one).
The student elections are also a real spectacle! (Lights, camera, action!)
Before the debate, all of the parties and their more ardent supporters marched towards a stage that had been erected for the purpose of the debate. The entire university closes down for two hours while the debate goes on - even the staff are given the time off - so there are plenty of dis/interested spectators. Many students proudly display their allegiance - each party has a different colour - and there are plenty of flags for people to wave. Fatah and Hamas are, conspicuously, the largest parties in terms of support. This was also reflected in the debate - if you could call it that.
Each leader was given 5 minutes to speak, and then someone from the university administration asked all the candidates questions, which they had to answer within 3 minutes. The presentations involved every party criticising Fatah and Hamas for fighting with each other all the time, except for Fatah and Hamas, who just criticised their main rival. Then, when asked what they would do about student affairs, they all began to talk about the national political situation. In fact, the candidates talked a lot about the national situation and very little about the university or the issues students face specifically!
Quite notably, all parties (including Fatah) condoned yesterday's suicide bombing, except Muhadara (and they didn't exactly condemn it!) Each time this happened, the reaction was far less equivocal than this article would make you think. The candidates for Hamas and Fatah were passionate orators, and the PFLP group also did well, because Ahmad Sadat's daughter was speaking for them. (Ahmad Sadat is the leader of the PLFP, who was in the Jericho jail that was raided last month. He was captured, and is now in an Israeli jail).
However, quite unexpectedly the sun came out, and the heat combined with the amount of time I had to stand led to a premature exit. I certainly wasn't the only one who was tired, although I was probably one of the few people who got sun-burnt!
The elections are tomorrow. The word on campus is that America's current crusade against Hamas is making Hamas very popular amongst the Palestinian students. The flip side - America's support for Fatah - is having the opposite effect. We shall see - results come out at 8 or 9pm.
More cause for pessimism
Even I didn't anticipate being so prescient the other day and now after what's happened, and the inevitable response unfolds, I feel even more pessimistic. I can't understand how, with evidence so obviously proving that violence begets more violence, which begets more violence in turn, people continue to seek violent solutions to problems they are simply exacerbating.
Haram.
This Gideon Levy article, written on Friday, is well worth a read if you're in a reflective mood.
Haram.
This Gideon Levy article, written on Friday, is well worth a read if you're in a reflective mood.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Happy...no wait.
It turns out that Easter in these parts isn't until next week. Despite the presence of both the Latin and Orthodox churches in the West Bank, everyone celebrates next week (Orthodox Easter), although Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th December (according to the Latin calendar). This obviously doesn't stop the masses of tourists from visiting Jerusalem this week. In fact, it's a double bonazza for all the businesses there!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Good Friday, or Sad Friday
Since Al Quds (Jerusalem) isn't too much of an inconvenience to get to from where I'm staying, (although it could be much more convenient), I thought I'd visit the Old City and see what Good Friday, or Sad Friday as it's known in Arabic, was like in the 'Holy City'. God had obviously decided that in order to give people a real taste of how unpleasant it was to get crucified, s/he was going to make it really hot. And I mean HOT!
Rather predictably there were masses upon masses of people. The other two times I've been to the Holy Sepulchre were during the summer (i.e. peak tourist season), so although there were huge numbers of tourists/pilgrims today, it wasn't that different from the other times I've been. In fact, the only differences were: i) groups carrying crosses, & ii) police regulating the flow of foot traffic when any of the aforementioned groups stopped to pray/sing/listen to a sermon or site-history.
Personally, I can't see how traveling to Jerusalem for Easter would be a very religious experience. There are so many people, you can't experience any sense of calm or reverence there, and the whole old city is totally geared towards tourist consumption. There are so many cameras (both digital and film), that the whole experience stands out more for its sense of spectacle, occasion and ritual. So I guess that's where the religious aspect comes in.
Flickr is proving uncooperative, so here's the link to some photos I took.
Anyway, due to the intense heat, I wasn't able to last much more than two hours, and then it was off home again. Interestingly, on the way back to the West Bank we managed to drive around the Kalandia checkpoint. That is to say, it's entirely possible to drive around it, rather than go through it. I would ask what's the point, but then I might feel compelled to offer my answer, and I'm just too tired at the moment. Also, despite the fact that Cadbury's sells lots of chocolate over here, there are no Easter Eggs. I'm slightly surprised they haven't tried to exploit this market. Wherever you are, have a good holiday (whether it's Jesus' death, Passover, or the Prophet's birth you're celebrating this weekend).
Rather predictably there were masses upon masses of people. The other two times I've been to the Holy Sepulchre were during the summer (i.e. peak tourist season), so although there were huge numbers of tourists/pilgrims today, it wasn't that different from the other times I've been. In fact, the only differences were: i) groups carrying crosses, & ii) police regulating the flow of foot traffic when any of the aforementioned groups stopped to pray/sing/listen to a sermon or site-history.
Personally, I can't see how traveling to Jerusalem for Easter would be a very religious experience. There are so many people, you can't experience any sense of calm or reverence there, and the whole old city is totally geared towards tourist consumption. There are so many cameras (both digital and film), that the whole experience stands out more for its sense of spectacle, occasion and ritual. So I guess that's where the religious aspect comes in.
Flickr is proving uncooperative, so here's the link to some photos I took.
Anyway, due to the intense heat, I wasn't able to last much more than two hours, and then it was off home again. Interestingly, on the way back to the West Bank we managed to drive around the Kalandia checkpoint. That is to say, it's entirely possible to drive around it, rather than go through it. I would ask what's the point, but then I might feel compelled to offer my answer, and I'm just too tired at the moment. Also, despite the fact that Cadbury's sells lots of chocolate over here, there are no Easter Eggs. I'm slightly surprised they haven't tried to exploit this market. Wherever you are, have a good holiday (whether it's Jesus' death, Passover, or the Prophet's birth you're celebrating this weekend).
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
What are donkey's really saying?
There are a couple of donkeys and horses who live in a field just across the road from where I am staying, and they frequently come across the road during the day to graze amongst the olive terraces that lie beside my residence. One or perhaps both of the donkeys are prone to making the most gut curling ea-haw (or however you write that donkey noise, you know what I mean) at all the times of the day and night. Sometimes I wonder what they are trying to say and to whom, exactly, are they trying to say it. I imagine these donkey's could probably write the most moving laments or sad ballads were they able to, but perhaps they're just saying "alright mate" to their friends, and I'm getting it all wrong.
Some more Amira Hass reading
For anyone who's following life here, or for those who are really procrastinating today. I'm hoping this link will be good for a long time, so I can come back to this article in the future. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll release another book.
Palestinian Film Festival
You don't know how tempted I am to fly to London just to attend this. If you manage to go, please send me/post a report.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
It's a buyer's market!
Now that I've had a rant, I also wanted to post an update on the car situation here after the police raid last week. T.'s car is now for sale, since he will be fined 10000 JD (alot of money!) if he's caught driving it again. Indeed, a number of cars with yellow number plates now have signs in the window with a couple of phone numbers to contact!
Pessimism
Living in Palestine, you have a keen sense of what's going on politically in the region. I don't think it's any stretch of the imagination to say that the events of the past week have caused a great deal of frustration for all those living here, (well, except for the Israeli Settlers).
Let's do a quick review. This week the EU, following a host of other governments, cut off aid to the Hamas led PA. They did this because a) Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, b) They refuse to disarm and halt all attacks on Israel, and c) They refuse to recognize past agreements.
While this has been happening, Israel has been shelling Gaza constantly (while also closing all the entrance/exits preventing the transport of grain among other things into Gaza), and two days ago switched from football pitches and militant training bases to residential areas. Yesterday, as a result of this decision, a nine year old girl was the latest Palestinian killed, as she sat in her home which was hit it by a shell.
The constant shelling is providing a footnote to the first news item, and I have yet to hear of any condemnation for the attacks on civilians. The fact that Israel a) refuses to recognize Palestine, b) refuses to disarm or halt attacks on Palestinians, and c) refuse to recognize past agreements (one example being the one handing control of some Gaza border crossings to the Palestinians, which Israel has now closed causing chronic food shortages in Gaza for the last month) comes as no surprise to anyone living here.
No doubt in a few weeks or months, when the next suicide bomber blows himself up in Tel Aviv or Netanyha after his father/mother/brother/sister/child/ was killed by the shelling or some other Israeli attack, we can all sit at home in front of our television sets and think that all that shelling was worth it just to quell the 'terrorists'. And the extraordinary violence that is the Occupation will keep ticking along.
Let's do a quick review. This week the EU, following a host of other governments, cut off aid to the Hamas led PA. They did this because a) Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, b) They refuse to disarm and halt all attacks on Israel, and c) They refuse to recognize past agreements.
While this has been happening, Israel has been shelling Gaza constantly (while also closing all the entrance/exits preventing the transport of grain among other things into Gaza), and two days ago switched from football pitches and militant training bases to residential areas. Yesterday, as a result of this decision, a nine year old girl was the latest Palestinian killed, as she sat in her home which was hit it by a shell.
The constant shelling is providing a footnote to the first news item, and I have yet to hear of any condemnation for the attacks on civilians. The fact that Israel a) refuses to recognize Palestine, b) refuses to disarm or halt attacks on Palestinians, and c) refuse to recognize past agreements (one example being the one handing control of some Gaza border crossings to the Palestinians, which Israel has now closed causing chronic food shortages in Gaza for the last month) comes as no surprise to anyone living here.
No doubt in a few weeks or months, when the next suicide bomber blows himself up in Tel Aviv or Netanyha after his father/mother/brother/sister/child/
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Thoughts about Tom Hurndall
I was just reading this article in the Observer this morning about the death of Tom Hurndall in Rafah (Gaza). Tom was a photographer/student who was shot in the head by the IDF as he helped children to safety. The shooting was covered up by the Occupation forces, and his parents have mounted a 3 year campaign to 'out' the truth, culminating in an inquest (in Britain) next week.
This event, and a couple of others that were similar and are mentioned in the article always evokes a feeling of ambiguity in me. It's always shocking to read about his death, and also the cover-up (although I can't say this comes as a surprise). I wonder sometimes though whether all this coverage of Hurndall and the other GB and US activists who were killed, deflects attention from the broader problem, or helps to bring it into focus?
Almost 5000 people have been killed since the start of the 2nd Intifada, with almost 4/5ths of those being Palestinians. And yet, how often do you see hand-wringing in the Guardian (which offers better coverage than most papers) over all those Palestinian deaths. Instead, 2 Brits and a yank become the focus of news stories, plays, book publications, etc, etc. In all 57 foreigners (neither Palestinian or Israeli) have been killed in that time, or 1% of all the casualties. (See B'Tselem)
On the other hand, the inquest into Hurndall's death does bring to light the systematic violence and lawlessness of the Occupation forces in the Territories, in a way that is palatable to the British public and other international communities. The tribunal also offers the possibility of international accountability and justice, which is surely an important step in really addressing the broader problem of the Israeli Occupation.
Returning to the story, my biggest sympathies lie with Hurndall's family. How terrible to not only lose a son, but to also have three years of your life taken from you as you crusade to find answers. It's ironic that coming to Palestine is often harder for those who stay at home than the people that actually come here. Tom Hurndall surely must have known what he was getting into going to Rafah. However, I wonder if he considered the impact his life and death would have had on other people besides himself? Still, without his witness where would we, or more importantly the residents of Gaza, be?
This event, and a couple of others that were similar and are mentioned in the article always evokes a feeling of ambiguity in me. It's always shocking to read about his death, and also the cover-up (although I can't say this comes as a surprise). I wonder sometimes though whether all this coverage of Hurndall and the other GB and US activists who were killed, deflects attention from the broader problem, or helps to bring it into focus?
Almost 5000 people have been killed since the start of the 2nd Intifada, with almost 4/5ths of those being Palestinians. And yet, how often do you see hand-wringing in the Guardian (which offers better coverage than most papers) over all those Palestinian deaths. Instead, 2 Brits and a yank become the focus of news stories, plays, book publications, etc, etc. In all 57 foreigners (neither Palestinian or Israeli) have been killed in that time, or 1% of all the casualties. (See B'Tselem)
On the other hand, the inquest into Hurndall's death does bring to light the systematic violence and lawlessness of the Occupation forces in the Territories, in a way that is palatable to the British public and other international communities. The tribunal also offers the possibility of international accountability and justice, which is surely an important step in really addressing the broader problem of the Israeli Occupation.
Returning to the story, my biggest sympathies lie with Hurndall's family. How terrible to not only lose a son, but to also have three years of your life taken from you as you crusade to find answers. It's ironic that coming to Palestine is often harder for those who stay at home than the people that actually come here. Tom Hurndall surely must have known what he was getting into going to Rafah. However, I wonder if he considered the impact his life and death would have had on other people besides himself? Still, without his witness where would we, or more importantly the residents of Gaza, be?
Friday, April 07, 2006
P for Pirate
Continuing this week's theme of mildly illegal activities in the OT, I was invited to someone's house yesterday evening, and there on the coffee table was a DVD copy of 'V for Vendetta', a film I just saw 2 weeks ago in the cinema. At 15 shekels, a bargain, although I'm sure it's better to watch it in the cinema.
Arab Films
"The colleague was waved on his way, while Sinno was held for nine hours."
If you enjoy Arab films, as I do, you'll find this article fascinating. Can't wait to see Iraq in Fragments.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Free TV
Did you know, if you live in Palestine, you can get satellite television for the cost of an aerial installation. I don't know the dynamics of it all, but I'm guessing that since anyone can pick up the signals in the air with the appropriate technology, you only pay for it if someone is charging you - which no one does here. Apparently, people have even invented software that decodes the encoded channels, so they can be watched by the masses. How's that for democratization of the media, (at least along liberal consumerist lines). Even families who are very poor only have to stump up for a TV set and aerial, hence satellite TV is widespread here. The only problem then is the loss of reception when the wind gets up and the aerial is blown over.
On a related note, Palestine only has one TV station, appropriately named Palestine TV, which has offices in Ramallah and Gaza. Most of the time people watch other Arab networks, particularly from Egypt (where there is a huge media industry) and Lebanon. There are also four 'MBC' channels, which show 'Western' (which in this case means popular US) shows and films. However, since I don't have a TV set, my life goes on without them (and I'm perfectly happy about this).
On a related note, Palestine only has one TV station, appropriately named Palestine TV, which has offices in Ramallah and Gaza. Most of the time people watch other Arab networks, particularly from Egypt (where there is a huge media industry) and Lebanon. There are also four 'MBC' channels, which show 'Western' (which in this case means popular US) shows and films. However, since I don't have a TV set, my life goes on without them (and I'm perfectly happy about this).
Police Story 2
Alas. Not a Jackie Chan film, but a story that contains perhaps as many laughs. On my way home yesterday, the police were still out catching those who hadn't paid their car registration. However, contrary to popular belief, they had rather craftily moved their checkpoints to one of the back roads that people were using after their friends told them about the checkpoints in the morning.
After seeing this, I went to T. shop to pick up a few supplies, and found T. looking concerned. His car, it turns out, had been impounded by the police, because he had yellow plates (not registered properly) and hence hadn't paid the tax in two years. As he put, 'why should I pay when I can't drive anywhere?' However, what made the story tragically amusing, was that T. wasn't driving the car at the time. Instead, he had sent his shop assistant, J., to run some errands, who was then caught in the car and arrested. T. had even known about the police checks, and suggested an alternative route to J., only to be scuppered by the unprecedented/unexpected show of police intelligence.
However, in Palestine it's possible to talk your way around/out of anything. T. sent his brother-in-law, M., to the police station. M. has a Jerusalem ID, and was therefore able to claim the car was his and reclaim it (and J. at the same time). However, T.'s car, like many others here, is now sat outside his house, since he can no longer drive it.
During this incident, I was also told that you could buy a little car (e.g. fiat punto) for NIS 2000 here (just US$400) if you get it on the black market. T. suggested that 80% of people buy their car that way, because the import taxes may double the value of a car bought abroad. (His example was a $40000 car would cost $100000 by the time it reached the buyer living in the West Bank). On top of that, the Palestinian Authority tax apparently comes to NIS 3000 (US$600) a year (another T. quote). Hence the thriving black market.
After seeing this, I went to T. shop to pick up a few supplies, and found T. looking concerned. His car, it turns out, had been impounded by the police, because he had yellow plates (not registered properly) and hence hadn't paid the tax in two years. As he put, 'why should I pay when I can't drive anywhere?' However, what made the story tragically amusing, was that T. wasn't driving the car at the time. Instead, he had sent his shop assistant, J., to run some errands, who was then caught in the car and arrested. T. had even known about the police checks, and suggested an alternative route to J., only to be scuppered by the unprecedented/unexpected show of police intelligence.
However, in Palestine it's possible to talk your way around/out of anything. T. sent his brother-in-law, M., to the police station. M. has a Jerusalem ID, and was therefore able to claim the car was his and reclaim it (and J. at the same time). However, T.'s car, like many others here, is now sat outside his house, since he can no longer drive it.
During this incident, I was also told that you could buy a little car (e.g. fiat punto) for NIS 2000 here (just US$400) if you get it on the black market. T. suggested that 80% of people buy their car that way, because the import taxes may double the value of a car bought abroad. (His example was a $40000 car would cost $100000 by the time it reached the buyer living in the West Bank). On top of that, the Palestinian Authority tax apparently comes to NIS 3000 (US$600) a year (another T. quote). Hence the thriving black market.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Palestinian Police Hard at Work
Walking into town this morning, you couldn't help but notice that there were Palestinian police stationed on the main road at the top and bottom of the hill. Although the town has a police station, I've rarely (if ever) seen the police actually doing any work since I've been here. Apparently this morning's show of force was most probably to catch people driving stolen cars or those who haven't registered their yellow license plates properly. If you're caught, it's the last time you'll see that car! Someone also told me there is a new scheme to reduce the import taxes on cars, to encourage people to buy them legally. I don't know what the town's residents think about this, but the policemen certainly provided entertainment for the daily coffee drinkers.
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