Ramallah: On this day in 1947, United Nations Resolution 181 was endorsed by the General Assembly calling for the creation of two states on the land of historic Palestine: one Jewish and one Palestinian.
Promises made, promises broken. One state created (Israel) and the other denied (Palestine). One side of history full of triumph and glory, the other filled with stories of dispossession, occupation, and the struggle for basic human rights.
It was too good to be true. Since the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan three and a half weeks ago, there has been no curfew in Ramallah and Al Bireh. But that all changed at midnight last night as the tanks rolled back into the city and imposed curfew once again. This morning, despite the curfew, my colleagues and I carefully drove through the empty streets of Ramallah in an attempt to reach our office in Al Ram (the northern-most district of East Jerusalem). Upon reaching Qalandiya checkpoint, part of the hateful apartheid system that closes the road between Ramallah and Jerusalem, we discovered that the soldiers were not allowing any Palestinians holding West Bank ID cards to pass. This meant that the majority of my colleagues were not allowed to get to work.
Promises made, promises broken. One state created (Israel) and the other denied (Palestine). One side of history full of triumph and glory, the other filled with stories of dispossession, occupation, and the struggle for basic human rights.
It was too good to be true. Since the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan three and a half weeks ago, there has been no curfew in Ramallah and Al Bireh. But that all changed at midnight last night as the tanks rolled back into the city and imposed curfew once again. This morning, despite the curfew, my colleagues and I carefully drove through the empty streets of Ramallah in an attempt to reach our office in Al Ram (the northern-most district of East Jerusalem). Upon reaching Qalandiya checkpoint, part of the hateful apartheid system that closes the road between Ramallah and Jerusalem, we discovered that the soldiers were not allowing any Palestinians holding West Bank ID cards to pass. This meant that the majority of my colleagues were not allowed to get to work.