Silwan

Yesterday I visited Silwan, a neighbourhood flowing down a steep slope that falls away from Jerusalem's Old City, built on the hidden ruins of what is believed to the 3,000 year old lost City of David. For the first time I began to see the outlines of an answer to the question that I've been searching for ever since I got here. All the Israelis and all the Palestinians I've met are warm, wonderful people. How did they come to be involved in such a ferocious conflict?


City of David excavations

Yoni, an Israeli peace activist, brought me first to a visitor's centre presenting the archaeological discoveries that have been made in the past hundred years or so. Like everything in Israel, the story behind the digs are as complex as the history of the place it has uncovered. The site is ostensibly a public park, created as a place where people from all over the world can come to learn about David's ancient city. However, unprecedentedly, the national park is actually owned by a private company associated with the Jewish settler movement. In order to excavate it was necessary to acquire and demolish a number of houses where Palestinian families had been living. The families didn't want their houses demolished, so the company used some fairly shady business dealings and questionable court proceedings in order to acquire the land. Under Israeli law, land that was conquered by the Israel army during the 1967 war is owned by the State unless the owners are physically present. After the war some residents left their families behind to go and work in other countries in the region, however the remaining family members were not considered "owners" by the State, and so they were physically evicted and their houses taken over. In one case, a house was shared between four siblings. The one who was still living there was allowed to stay in his room, and is now forced to share the other three rooms of the house with Jewish settlers. He can't leave for fear that his remaining room will be taken over, so he is effectively imprisoned in his own room.


Across the Valley

Most countries have constitutional guarantees to ensure that lawmakers can't get away with making these kinds of laws, however in Israel laws made before a certain date are protected from any changes, even if they are unconstitutional. The supreme court has strongly recommended that these eviction laws should not be used, but is powerless to stop anyone who chooses to do so.


Mount of Olives

After visiting the park, we walked up the hill to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, created by the community in order to present the other side of the story to visitors to Silwan. On the way, we passed by the children's area of the centre. It was destroyed by Israeli army bulldozers two days ago after a court ruling designated it as park land. Across the road in the remaining part of the centre, founder Ahmed al Qareen was visibly deflated. He explained that his children saw the remains of their playground on their way home from school. "A national park is supposed to be built for the good of the community, so why do they destroy our children's community center?" he asked angrily. He showed us a video about the history of the area, and the conflict between settlers and Palestinian residents. The image that remains with me from the video is of a group of children throwing rocks at a settler's car coming down the hill. Two children are in the middle of the road, but the car accelerates straight into them, sending one flying into the air, who then falls and bounces sickeningly against the bonnet. The car stops momentarily, and then takes off.


Remains of Wadi Hilweh Community Centre

Thinking about this horrific image, and the thought process that must have been going on in the driver's mind, I began to understand how good men come to be extremists. The man in the car comes down the hill. Seeing people armed with rocks poised to hurl at him, he panics, stamping on the accelerator. The car crashes into the child's body and it flies into the air. Instinctively appalled by what he has just done, the man brakes. But then he realizes that he will probably be lynched, and takes off again. I imagine this man arriving at his house, terrified by what his actions say about him as a human being. The only alternative to believing that he is an insensitive monster is to rationalize his actions, to say that the child deserved it. And the only way to accept that outcome is to assume in turn that the other side themselves are monsters.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit some Jewish Settlers to hear their side of the story.