It has been an intense 24 hours in Gaza – so intense and busy that I didn’t have time to write there. But a 24 hours that has been worth every minute. The ridiculous and lengthy wait at the Rafeh border on the Egyptian side (both coming and going) has faded from my mind, but I will make a quick observation ….border crossings can be horrific for people and the less status/money you have the more you are the mercy of systems and petty bureaucrats who love the power they wield. And in case we think Canada is superior in this regard, let’s not forget about Mr. Robert Dziekański.

The first person we meet at the Rafeh crossing trying to get into Gaza was a Canadian Palestinian from Edmonton trying to see his sick father. He was quite surprised to see two Canadian MPs next to him. I am pretty sure he did not make it thru, having come that long way. He may have ended up going in via tunnels (more on that later).

Once inside (and “inside” is a more apt description than you’d think, as in a jail like setting), you are struck by the beauty of the Gaza strip nestled beside the Mediterranean Sea. In past years, it was a popular holiday destination for people in the region and there are echoes of grand houses and villas overlooking the sea. But now, a million litres of sewage spills out into the sea, 80% of the roads are badly in need of repair, and the cosmopolitan air of Gaza city is reduced to a crumbling infrastructure. Further north, whole neighbourhoods are flattened and shelled.

Gaza once had a vibrant agriculture industry and the remains of rows and rows of greenhouses are evident. We hear that the strawberries were delicious and always awaited in Europe in December (like Canadians await the treat of mandarin oranges). But the blockade means no replacement for the canvass covers that rip in the wind, no glass, no seeds, no supplies, no tools, and no building supplies; useless.

Well at least there’s the sea – abundant. But that too is “contained”. When we meet with the fishers at 5:30am, the sun rising atop the minarets in the east, and the graceful wooden fish boats coming in from the nights catch, there isn’t much to unload. Sardines – and small they tell us. Israel restricts the fishing limit to less than 3 miles (much less than outlined in the Oslo agreement) and so the once robust fishing industry that used to export to Israel is gone. The fishers scrape out a living and load the containers of sardines onto flat-bed carts driven by horse or mule. Only 20% or the boats are used now. And once out to sea they keep a wary eye open for IDF gunboats that fire warning shots.

The more you ask, the more you don’t want to hear, but must hear, to register the impact of the more than 2 year siege of Gaza and the 22 day war.

You never know in advance what it is that will get to you, so I am surprised that for me, it’s the Karni industrial area. It’s not the parliament building, a cascading wreck of concrete, nor the shelled and bombed houses, nor the horrendous refugee camps (800,000 of Gaza’s 1.5 million population are refugees) that have existed for ever. Nor is it the garbage, dead animals here and there, and the vacant empty buildings with broken windows and doors hanging off. It’s this industrial area in the north-east part of the city – flattened and obliterated by exiting forces of the IDF. In the last 48 hours of the war they left via this area and destroyed it on their way out. There were 4000 factories and industries. Now there are 250. Gaza was famous for its furniture making. There were biscuit factories, ice cream factories, and machine and industrial enterprises, to name a few. Almost all gone, almost as a parting shot on their way out. It’s only then that I begin to get it – we are so used to the messages that the war was about destroying terrorists. But this was about destroying the economy and livelihood of the whole of Gaza society.

We met a number of local business people. They patiently explain what they are facing. You can tell they have explained it many times, but will continue until they are heard.

“We are not all Hamas or Fatah, or anything, but just people who want to live”.

“We are human beings looking for a good future”

“We did business with Israelis, we had imports, exports, and good workers”.

“But we have nothing called the economy now”.

These are some of the things the business people say as they describe the devastation of their economy and society. But the one that sticks in my mind is one the man who says, “The last neighbour you want is someone with nothing to lose”.

It is chilling and real in many ways. And maybe that feeds into the stereotype of the terrorist threat. But it is also thoughtful and full of concern about what has happened and could still happen.

Every single person we meet, NGOs, doctors, aid workers, fishers, young women, and families, say there must be peace and a Palestinian state. Every single person we meet wants a normal life and an end to physiological, physical and political warfare. And they have hope for this. Every single person wants to come and go, just like other people, and not be subject to forced containment. If you’re in you can’t get out(with a few exceptions) and if you’re out you can’t get in.

And on it goes, only getting worse.

More later on our visit with UNWRA and the significant work they are doing and the tunnels, which we visited.

Hebron is an ancient city of 6000 years and of enormous religious significance. There are many interests and tensions here.

In its modern life it is home to 250,000 Palestinians and is the main centre of commerce and business in the West Bank.

The city was divided into H1 and H2 as a result of the Oslo agreement in 1993. The oldest part of the city, also has a settlement slap bang in the middle of everything, home to a few hundred very orthodox and at times aggressive Jewish settlers, guarded by a 1000+ security forces.

There is a history of tension and violence and as a result the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) was set up in 1994. We visited these folks and they do good work in patrolling, monitoring and reporting any incidents (14,000 since 1994). They do not intervene.

We also met with the Mayor of Hebron who has one simple goal….”My vision is to bring back normal life to our city”. He notes that 58% of the population is under 18. And he worries that the youth don’t have the options and alternatives they need, especially at night. “Their CV’s don’t say PhD or BSc it says too often, 5 years in jail”. The city has built a new sports arena that will open in three weeks and this is a major accomplishment.

The Mayor believes the old part of the city should be a “heritage of mankind”. But it is now a ghost town with 1800 shops closed by the Military since the massacre in 1994. It’s a long way to “normal”. But this Mayor is like most all Mayors….he wants his city to prosper, and its citizens to have a good quality of life.

West Bank, August 9.

We had a very busy day in the West Bank.

There’s a lot to learn and absorb. A briefing from the Ramallah office of the Canadian government is really helpful. Ramallah itself, a centre of commerce and social activity on the West Bank, is bustling and busy. New buildings. We pass through Area C (still controlled by Israel administratively and policed by Israel). We are told that this means in effect, no regular policing.

Excellent briefing from Negotiations Support Unit of PLO. Settlements and their continued expansion are the single greatest threat to a viable and sovereign Palestinian State. Expansion continues and the impacts are real (as we are to see later in Bil’in). It means Palestinians don’t have access their land and resources around the settlements. Settlements now number about 170 with a population of close to half a million. The by-pass roads connecting them and the Wall, now two thirds constructed, means close to 90% of the settlements will be within the wall, even though they go far beyond the green line. The settlements are illegal under International Law. This system of segregation of Palestinian land, and over 600 check points in the West Bank, and a permit regime, is a major road block for a Palestinian state.

Later we meet with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the PA, a self described “moderate”. He says Israel is implementing a clear policy of a “settler state” in the West Bank. We also talk about the situation in Gaza and he points out $4.4 Billion has been provided by the International Community to re-build Gaza where 25,000 homes were totally or partially destroyed in the war and bombing in December/January, but the materials for re-building are not getting in. UN reports on the ground have said that 860 truck loads are needed every day to go into Gaza to cope with the humanitarian disaster. But only a small percentage is allowed in by Israel.

Later on we have a lively discussion with Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian MP, who is critical of the way things are being done by the Fatah Party, the dominant party in control of the Palestinian Authority. He advocates for a more grass roots approach to support democratic development, rather than focussing on security issues. He has been supporting non-violent resistance to the occupation, and believes this must grow.

I have anticipated our visit to the small community of Bil’in, a village of about 1700 people 30 minutes from Ramallah. I met Mohammad Khatid, a leader in the village, in Ottawa and was so impressed with his leadership and work. He is now in jail. We met with other village representatives and their Israeli supporters and visited the site adjacent to the fence/wall, where they hold weekly demonstrations. The wall cuts through their land. The earth is scorched black from numerous tear gas cylinders and there is a terrible smell that makes you want to vomit. It’s the remains of “skunk water” they say. As many as 50 containers containing this skunk water are shot over by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), at a time, and once on you, will remain for weeks in your hair and skin. One villager tells us they have been terrorized by night arrests and the children are very scared and can’t sleep. Arrests are nothing new, they told us, but the focus of the security forces has increased since the court case in Montreal, where the village has taken 2 Canadian companies to court for building an extension to an illegal settlement next to the village. The village of Bil’in won a court case in Israel two years ago that the wall had to be moved so it doesn’t separate their land, but nothing has happened. “They are trying to kill popular non-violent resistance”, but the villagers continue to pursue their case. We also meet a man whose brother died at the wall after being shot by IDF. His brother’s memorial is a few feet away – and he himself was arrested, and shot in the foot while handcuffed and blind folded. He has a warm smile and easy going manner which defies what he has experienced.

Villagers who are arrested face military court – and a much harsher legal system than the Israeli supporters who are arrested and face the regular Israeli system.

Mohammad is in jail – and we have requested to see him – but are told it will take 10 days at least. We will send him a message.

The Israeli supporter who works with the village gave a recent update, that last night (Sunday) the security forces came and harassed his family in their homes. His father was taken in for questioning. We will monitor what is going on.

Now off to Hebron (Monday). I was there in 2002 and am interested to see if it’s the same Mayor of Hebron that we met with then. We will also meet the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) folks.