West Bank Welcome

Greetings from Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine.

I don't have lots of time or internet access for this blog update, but I wanted to let you all know that I will be volunteering with a group called the International Solidarity Movement (www.palsolidarity.org) for the next two weeks throughout the West Bank of Palestine.

Today, an Italian woman and I are headed three hours south to Suseya, where we will be accompanying shepherds as they graze their animals from the sunrise to late afternoon. Many farmers here in the West Bank have confrontations with illegal Israeli settlers and Israeli soliders while working their fields or grazing their animals, so we are present as internationals to deescalate the situation and give the farmers an opportunity to do what they need to do. I had two days of training when I arrived on Saturday morning and now I am ready, but still a bit nervous, to get to work! Later on in the week, I will be helping Palestinian families with their olive harvest in the Nablus area of the north.

In this moment, there is a demonstration in Ramallah against the Palestinian Authority (also known as the P.A., the Palestinian government) to reintroduce the Goldstone Report to the UN, which documents the human rights abuses committed by Israel during the 'war' in Gaza in December 2008. The P.A. recently announced it would not pursue holiding Israel accountable to these attrocities just now, as Israel has said this would 'hinder' peace negotiations. Politics as usual!

The Palestinian-Israeli dispute here is so complex, it is difficult to grasp the players and the consequences of ancient and modern events; but yet it all plays out in tragic circumstances for the everyday lives of Palestinians in the quest for 'security', land and power... I look forward to sharing my experiences with you after I return from my volunteer work. Salam Alykom.