The West Bank; East Jerusalem and the settlements; Judea and Samaria; The Liberated Territories; The Occupied Territories.
Today we visited one of the most disputed areas on Earth, one with incredibly contradictory names. Over the course of our travels, we learned the history of the conflict, heard multiple perspectives about it, and came to the realization that these various epithets perhaps reflect the real cause of the issue: We all think of the areas in question in our own terms, and few can accept the other side’s choice.
Our journey was one of steadily moving beyond the Green Line. First we viewed the West Bank from a slight distance, 10 kilometers, from an unfinished mansion of King Hussein on a hill in Jerusalem. The fact that we were so close to Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian Authority, was shocking, but that was only the beginning. Next we were at Mount Scopus, just a few kilometers from the separation barrier (another piece of the puzzle with numerous titles), the Palestinian village of Ezrayim nearby, and behind it the Jewish settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. Then came Gilo, the southernmost point in Jerusalem. By now, the Palestinian-controlled city of Bethlehem was around a mile away, the houses and roads basically in walking distance. Suddenly, we passed through a tunnel and checkpoint and we were in Gush Etzion, a community surrounded by Arab villages.
Finally we entered Efrat, part of the Gush Etzion bloc. Then, with an escort of soldiers, we passed through another checkpoint and entered the disputed area of Etam Hill. The Israeli Supreme Court wants to build the security barrier across the hill, while Efrat wants it wholly a part of the city and hopes to build 2500 housing units upon it.. The Arab towns around us and the children waving at the bus did not seem much different from those we had previously encountered, but the fact is, they were basically in another country. Staring at the farthest hill in the farthest settlement that we had visited in Israel, I could not help but gape in wonder. This felt like the ultimate edge, the final mountain.
On our way back, we continued our initial discussion of names. What does “occupied territory” mean, asked our guide. The political definition, he explained, was traditionally when a government controls land in the place of its native government. What government was Israel there in place of? Not Jordan, who has given up claims to the land decades ago. The PLO? No, they were established after Israel already took control of the land. In his opinion, East Jerusalem and the settlements are not technically occupied territory.
It seems that everyone has their own name for both the disputed territory and the barrier being created along it. Does any title truly capture their essence? Unfortunately, due to the complexity of the issue and the passion it arouses, not yet. But if we listen to the other side and understand where their terminology comes from, perhaps we can civilly and intelligently discuss the situation, and then finally achieve peace. Lasting harmony and agreement does not have to be so far away; all we need to do is get the words out of the way.