Redeployment Diary
29 December 1995
Meanwhile in the nearby settlement of Bet El, part I
New Settler Roads
Left: Between Birzeit and Ramallah, a bypass road is almost finished being constructed to facilitate travel between the west of Ramallah (towards Tel Aviv) and the nearby settlement of Bet El to the east. Ruining a beautiful valley, it was hard to see this as anything but another expedient, 'pragmatic' choice in the peace process - rather than address the issue of settlers immediately, the choices of this process seem to have been containment of the Palestinians and the building of hasty, poorly constructed and environmentally-damaging roads to enable the settlers to remain.
Signs of Extremism
Above: As a celebration of progress took place in Ramallah, myself and a Hebrew speaking friend walked into the nearby settlement of Bet El to see what the atmosphere there was like. The fortress mentality of the Bet El settlers remains immovable. I spotted several posters and stickers for Jewish extremist groups in a short, 15-minute walk, including one advertising a November anniversary memorial service for Rabbi Meir Kahane. The Hebrew on the bus stop 'public information' poster pictured above reads:
"An Arab Vehicle! Can enter; Weapons! Explosive materials!; And can take our children! Security is in our hands."The photo above on the right shows a stop sign at the exit, with a picture of the Rabbi who is the spiritual father of the Gush Emunim ("Bloc of the Faithful") settlers movement. The text reads, "There is no room for withdrawl from any part of the land."
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Photos: © Nigel Parry. All available.