Photo Essay

Figure 1.

Wall in Bethlehem: I was in Palestine for research in March and April of 2008. I was based in Bethlehem but had to go to East Jerusalem often for my research. Bethlehem is a suburb of Jerusalem (about six miles away), but the trip could take about one hour. You can only go to Jerusalem with “proper” identification papers, which most of Bethlehemites don’t have. To get to Jerusalem, you have to take a taxi from the center of Bethlehem and go to the wall. (above picture)

Figure 2.

Check point crossing in Bethlehem: Then you have to walk through several fenced corridors (above) before getting to the gate.

Figure 3.

Wall in Bethlehem: Another section of Bethlehem wall and watch tower.

Figure 4.

Wall in Bethlehem: Bethlehem kids walking and playing next to the wall.

Figure 5.

Wall in Bethlehem: The wall has been built in the middle of the street in front of this house and goes around the back to cut the backyard. Now a part of the family’s backyard is on the other side of the wall.

Figure 6.

Bypass road in the suburb of Jerusalem: It divides a Palestinian town. Since Palestinians don’t have access to the road and are not allowed to travel on the road, they have to go under the road or take the dirt road to travel from one side of their town to the other.

Figure 7.

Checkpoint: A Palestinian ambulance waits behind an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. Many Palestinians have died behind the checkpoints, due to delays and/or the lack of a permit to cross the checkpoint to go to hospital.

Figure 8.

The wall from the Israeli side: In contrast to the Palestinian side of the wall, which is very close to and visible from Palestinian houses, schools and businesses, the Israeli side of the wall is not close to settlers’ houses or bypass roads in the West Bank. It is built in a way which is not clearly visible from the road, or in some cases it is painted with murals, such as the above picture.

Figure 9.

Qalandiya: This is the beginning of the wall and the watch tower separating East Jerusalem from Ramallah. The distance between the two cities is a few miles, but it could take more than two hours to get from one to the other, and that is only if you have “proper” papers. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians living in Ramallah haven’t been able to travel to Jerusalem for years. Many families have been separated by the wall with no prospect of visiting one another.

Figure 10.

Qalandiya: Palestinians paint on the wall and write messages about the situation.

Figure 11.

Qalandiya: This painting on the wall demonstrates the Palestinian dream of breaking down the wall.

Figure 12.

Wall (fence) and gate in Jayyus: In rural areas, the wall takes the form of an electronic fence which separates Palestinian farmers from their farm land. Every several miles the fence has a gate which is opened a few hours each day to let Palestinians go to their farms. The gates are usually closed for Jewish holidays and when there is any sign of political unrest. Sometimes the gates remain closed for weeks, preventing Palestinians from working on their farm land.