On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night...
Isaiah 62.6
Tens of thousands knocked on the gates
of Jerusalem last month (Ramadan - August/September 2009), but the walls of bureaucracy remained blocked and the gates of right and justice stayed locked and sealed to most who sought to exercise their right to religious worship and the customs of their culture.
From OCHA Report (15.9.09): "Nearly 60 percent of Palestinians, including all of Gaza's population and over 40% of the West Bank population, have been prohibited from entering East Jerusalem for Friday prayers during Ramadan this year."
From the observations at Jerusalem checkpoints, and the reports from there on the four Fridays of Ramadan, there arises a picture contradictory to the false presentation that the propaganda agencies of the Occupation helmsmen laboured to create, particularly for countries overseas, and their leaders. They (the Defence Minister and his spokesmen) declared a "basket of benefits and gestures to the Palestinian population" for Ramadan, but in practice the obligation of the State of Israel, as sovereign and occupier, is to permit the occupied population the freedom of religious rites under the basic human rights. Any attempt to present the giving of that right as a benefit (or special offer for the holy days) is a cynical and transparent distortion.
This Spotlight seeks to strip away from the occupier's face the mask designed to throw sand in the world's eyes, in order to beautify the ugliness and doll up the wrongs perpetrated at the checkpoints and in the Territories on weekdays and festivals alike. This time we speak of the four Fridays of Ramadan, when Muslims are commanded to offer up their prayers at the el Aktsa Mosque in East Jerusalem.
The canvas is too small to tell of all the harsh events of which we were witnesses. These are documented in writing and photos in the full reports, from which excerpts are presented below. The Palestinians went to their destination for prayers, on the Ramadan Fridays, by a criterion of age. This criterion was not a commandment of their religion, but rather Occupation bureaucracy, and this year they behaved as in previous years.
The welfare of the occupied population is the responsibility of the Civil Administration, by way of the District Coordinating Offices (DCOs) spread throughout the West Bank. But the welfare of the Palestinian population of the West Bank was not the top priority of the Administration, but rather (and solely) enforcement of order for its own sake. There were a variety of partners in this, from the police echelons - the mounted police, the Special Patrol Unit, officers and men of the Israel Police, Border Police units, IDF officers and men, even a "legal officer" was present. To these were added civilian security units, and all were concerned with only one thing, the avoidance of problems. Not the resolution of specific problems arising on the spot, not consideration for the restrictions and/or rights of individuals, not distinction between the important and the trivial, not openness, not listening, not assisting - but only to pass this problematic month with a minimum of hitches, so as not to spoil the impression of the "festive basket of benefits" distributed by the magnanimous occupier.
From the reports:
1. ...not all were blocked. Whoever was fated to have been born 45 years ago (women) or 50 years (men) passed. All the others, defined by posters and scores of policemen and soldiers (who were only putting into practice the humanism in which Israel glorifies), including those entitled to follow the commandments of their religion. The concept of "freedom of worship" again won a renewed definition in Israel - that of age. The important thing was order, because order must prevail, and indeed it did.
The full report here.
2. ...the orders were stringently observed, though the DCO representative responded to a request to contact a certain address which was likely to allow one man to pass, but to no avail...
One man, who tried to bypass the checkpoint, was caught by the cameras sited on a building at the top of a distant hill, his ID was taken from him and he was taken by soldiers to the other side of the checkpoint. Order prevailed. And freedom of worship?
The full report here.
Only two criteria guided the action of forces on the ground: pass and don't pass. Black and white. No shadows, no shadings, nor any discretion. Sharp as a razor.
3. Order, there was: the loudspeakers worked, the policemen and soldiers prevented, no heart softened, no straying from the procedures - whoever didn't meet the conditions, didn't pass.
The full report here.
4. ...the women who passed into the plaza were forced to crowd into a long dense line outside the pillared building. The stood in the blazing sun and heat in order to pass the checkpoint. So that it would be "orderly," fences were placed very close to the wall of the checkpoint building, making the women and children stand in a crushed line.
The full report here.
The difference between the size of lettering and the signs in English in prominent places, and between the size in Hebrew proves the contention that the situation was projected outwards (to the international media) and not internally.
5. ...and the writing in Arabic was in small letters compared to the English. Most of the people did not notice the signs, which caused the Border Police to make impatient, and sometimes insulting, comments.
The full report here.
6. ...two concrete slabs positioned at the edges of the parking lot to mark the "humanitarian line," and a sign in English and Arabic hanging from them - English in larger letters probably not to let the foreign media miss the humanism unfolding before their eyes.
The full report here.
The age criterion prevented sons from accompanying their elderly parents, and children who by age are allowed to pass but are too young to go without accompaniment, from joining their parents who were not elderly enough, and this confusion arbitrarily separated between family members:
7. ...an elderly woman accompanies her blind (27 year old) son, succeeded in passing the first line, holding his arm, and he taps behind her with his cane. Three soldiers approach: an officer, an escort and a Border Policeman. Her eyes pleading to let them through, despite his age. The officer (looks like a reservist) explains and asks, lifts a phone to Central Command. They are still three dealing with the woman and her son. The answer from the Command "refused." They are sent back, fasting, under the sun.
The full report here.
8. ...children over 12 were not allowed to pass, even when accompanied by their parents. Some returned home alone, and in some cases the parent also forsook the right to pass. There were many bowed heads and angry glances.
The full report here.
9. ...children up to age 12 passed with a birth certificate. Over that age passage was not allowed. One boy, in a family of many children, who looked big for his age, was not allowed through.
The full report here.
10. ...from time to time we saw a youth or girl who just missed the permissible age were turned back. The frustration and disappointment could be seen in their faces.
The full report here.
And the "gesture" revealed before our eyes more than impressing, irritated the eyes and pounded the heart.
11. ...humanitarian horses, with humanitarian riders, arranged the humanitarian line so it was straight, so the order would not be disrupted or the orders violated. "Back off!"
A humanitarian officer delicately lifted a young girl that had lost her way into the line of soldiers and returned her to the other blocked passage. In another gesture, he gave "IDF" water to an exhausted woman - in front of the media and cameras.
A humanitarian tent was placed close to the men's passage - where the soldiers ate and drank in order not torment the eyes of the fasting Palestinians.
And the always locked toilets, were opened for a limited time and again locked in the faces of the needy to mark the end of the humanitarian gestures.
The full report here.
12. ...on every side of the square a tent was erected, covered in netting, to serve as a rest area for the soldiers and policemen who wanted to smoke and eat. Was this an act of consideration for the fasting Palestinians, or a demonstrative action in the eyes of the many media representatives?
The full report here.
The gestures were also stopped at an early hour, before the masses rushing to the army checkpoints - the metal and humane obstacles - even the holders of passes, succeed in passing to the other side and in reaching their destination.
13. ...at 11:30 the flow of people stopped almost at once. The checkpoint is closed at 12:00.
The full report here.
14. ...during Ramadan days the checkpoint closes at 12:30 with no explanation or reason.
The full report here.
15. ...clearly, on the Fridays of Ramadan, Qalandiya Checkpoint is closed for passage in the direction of Jerusalem at 12:30.
The full report here.
16. ...I don't know where to put myself. I fluctuate between two... ashamed, eroded and saddened with my partners.
The full report here.
As Louis Ferdinand Celine wrote in his immortal book Journey to the End of Night, "I left and continued with the night, full of shame, for I too... never succeeded to feel that I am not responsible for tragedies that happen."
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Written by Tamar Fleishman
Photography by Dorit Hershkovitz
Translated by Louis Williams