Into Ramallah By Road

We went back to Ramallah yesterday in the pouring rain. Like Britain, this country is drying up - there's been no rain here for over a month, during what should be the wettest season of the year.

This 23 minute video was shot using my cameraphone, from the back of the "service" (shared cab) vehicle. The guy told us that once they close this section of the wall, he's going to lose a lot of trade, as the only way in or out of Jerusalem, without going a very long way round, will be through the highly militarised Aterot / Calendia checkpoint, which it was pointed out to me, has all the hallmarks of an international border crossing, despite the fact it is kilometres inside Palestinian territory.

The news about dismantling some twenty or so checkpoints was welcome, but there are over 500 checkpoints here, which puts it into perspective. Meanwhile, the settlers moved from Gaza in the summer are going to be re-housed in a brand new Israeli settlement, right in the middle of the West Bank.