Israel/Palestine, the West Bank, the Golan Heights

"What perfect timing to do research here on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than during another war," said the Israeli passport official when I arrived at the Tel Aviv airport on the night of January 2. I planned on this whole 3 week research trip ever since I left the Holy Land last August and for a region continuously in conflict, I wasn't really too surprised with Gaza flaring up again. It happens. Israeli elections are next month. The US is under a transition period. Gaza was illegally under siege by Israel for 18 months. Both sides violated the last ceasefire. So Israel and Hamas are back at war with each other. Israel invades Gaza on my first day here. Go figure.

At least I was able to get away from the biased US media coverage of the war that I was stuck with at home in DC, which was a real relief. I still want to throw my shoe at Israeli spokesman Mark Regev every time I see him on TV on a blatant Israeli PR campaign. He and all of US media conveniently leave out any facts critical of Israel or its actions in the last 18 months. Seriously, anyone with a memory span longer than 18 months (or even 6) should know that Israel and its policies share as much or more of the blame and responsibility as Hamas for the current war. "War is a defeat for humanity" (Pope JPII) and the diplomatic and policy failures of Israeli, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority leaders are what brought this current war upon the Israeli and Palestinian people.

On the ground here, it's all the usual. Palestinians are pissed off. 42 years of illegal military occupation and martial law does that. Israelis are indifferent. It's all typical Israeli politics before elections. The usual. If anything, the current Gaza war just pushed back a few years any hope for serious peace negotiations. The Syrians and even the moderate Palestinian Authority already suspended their peace talks with Israel. The US's blind support for Israel only makes matters worse. Good luck Obama. Welcome to DC.

I'm writing my senior thesis on the Arab-Israeli conflict and my own personal proposal for a permanent peace in the region, not just with Palestinians but taking into account the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas axis. And of course, any serious work requires comprehensive research encompassing every perspective available and that's what brings me back here and what will bring me back to Lebanon and Syria this summer. For the record, I wouldn't consider myself either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. My Arabic professor described me more as pro-peace and I guess I'll just settle for that. Peace for the Palestinians requires justice. Peace for the Israelis requires security. Both sides have the right to justice and security and to deny them these two basic rights, among other things, will only serve to perpetuate the violence that has beset both Palestinians and Israelis. Last time I was here in August for two weeks as an aid worker volunteer at a Palestinian Refugee Camp in the West Bank (just outside Bethlehem) so I mostly only got the Palestinian perspective from a refugee point of view, who are mostly just really pissed off (and rightfully so). And the only Israelis I met here last time were human rights activists and soldiers opposing the ongoing occupation. Anyway, here's my schedule and list of most important meetings:

1/2:
Arrival in Tel Aviv.

1/3:
Dead Sea and South Israel. Noticed about half a dozen Israeli F-16 jets flying south towards Gaza. No rockets from Hamas though.

1/3 - 1/10:
Staying in Jerusalem.

1/5:
Meetings with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, the West Bank.
- Ahmed Qurei, Chief Palestinian Negotiator since 1993 Oslo Accords and former Prime Minister under Yasser Arafat
- Ahmed Subuh, Deputy Foreign Minister (was originally supposed to meet with Riad Malki the Foreign Minister but he had to go to the UN to settle the Gaza crisis)
- Rafiq Husseini, Chief of Staff to President Abbas
- Muzna Shihabi, Negotiations Department of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)
- Mustafa Bargouthi, Opposition Member of Parliament.
- Hamas official (canceled)

Visit Qalandia Refugee Camp outside Ramallah.
- Another Palestinian today asked me again if I was either Chinese or Japanese. As usual I reply I'm Filipino and then he asks me what the Philippines is. I guess Asians don't go to Palestine too much these days.

Also ended up in the middle of a Palestinian protest in downtown Ramallah against Israel. Then got back to the hotel room and saw footage of it on CNN.

Discussion on the war in Gaza of course took up most of the meetings. Also went over the current peace process with Israel, internal Palestinian politics, relations with Hamas, the new US administration, the role of Arab states, Israeli elections, etc.

1/6 - 1/7:
Meetings with Israeli officials at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Tour of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

1/8:
Visit to Israeli Parliament (the Knesset).

1/10:
Meeting with Governor of Bethlehem.

1/11 - 1/12:
South Israel.

1/13:
Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

Meeting with Gideon Levy, journalist for Ha'aretz (Israeli newspaper)

1/14:
Meeting with Oslo negotiator Ron Pundak.

1/15:
Meeting with Mayor of Nazareth, Ramiz Jaraisy.

1/16:
Meeting with the United Nations peacekeepers in the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights (United Nations Observer Disengagement Force) at Camp Ziouani.

Meeting with the Israeli Army on the Israel-Lebanon/Hezbollah border.

1/18:
Tel Aviv to NYC to DC to Detroit to Chicago to Notre Dame.

I almost was going to stay in DC for the inauguration on 1/20 but I figured I already missed the first week of class. Maybe I'll catch the next one.