July 28, 2003

We have been sorting through responses to our latest update. One came from one of Marthame's former students who is now studying in Romania. He was back home this summer in Jenin, after spending five hours at security at Ben Gurion Airport. They gave him a two week visa, which he overstayed because they delayed him on exit. He returned back to Jenin to wait for permission to overstay his visa, which eventually came. As he says, "when you live in palestine even for a few days, you think its the hell on earth." At times...

We went to Ramallah after classes, the first time we have done so unhindered by the Surda roadblock in more than two years. The rumors were true. We took care of some errands, having lunch at Charle's (sic) Fried Chicken, the proprietor of which lived in Houston for twenty years and has American citizenship (and a detectable Texan accent).

The word from some is that other checkpoints will soon open - Qalandia, for example, but others are far more cynical: Sharon is in Washington, so he has to show that the Israelis are opening the ways throughout the West Bank. In the end, it's probably somewhere in between.

An Israeli soldier at our “flying checkpoint” outside Ramallah.

The long line of Palestinian traffic headed toward Ramallah, forced to stop for the Israeli checkpoint.

However, on the way home, we found ourselves face to face with a different checkpoint. It was a "flying checkpoint" (a couple jeeps and a few soldiers stopping traffic) which - lucky for us - was only stopping traffic going toward Ramallah. But the line was three cars wide and very long, slowing us down as we crept past them off the edge of the pavement, passing people who'd given up and started walking back. Things like this give the appearance that the grand opening of the checkpoint was all smoke and mirrors.

This checkpoint was within yards of Star Mountain, our summer residence, so provided some spectating for the next few hours.