Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace | Page 40

Israel-Palestine: For Human Values in the Absence of a Just Peace

the 220th General Assembly in 2012, pursue positive investment in Palestine, working
with organizations like Green Action and Olives of Peace or more directly through the
Presbyterian Foundation, which has financed several projects with West Bank
Palestinians.xcviii
D. Freedom of Movement
Palestinians and, to a much lesser extent Israeli citizens, face harmful restrictions
in their ability to live, worship, work, and be with their family and friends in the Holy
Lands. Palestinians are unable to travel freely between the West Bank, Gaza, and East
Jerusalem or to live in either location as they choose. By contrast, Israeli settlers usually
enjoy preferential treatment for building homes and businesses and for constructing,
using, and maintaining roads built for their exclusive use. Israeli citizens are warned not
to enter many parts of Palestine, particularly Areas A and B, regardless of their
connections to persons and programs in those areas.
Congregations can educate themselves about the structures of the Occupation that
prevent free movement within and between the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
When planning trips to the Holy Lands, they should include attention not only to sites in
Israel (the Mount of the Beatitudes, Caesarea Maritima, Nazareth, etc.) and in the Old
City of Jerusalem, but also to Palestinian cities within the West Bank (Ramallah,
Bethlehem, Jericho, Hebron) and to places like the Tent of Nations homestead. They
should learn about how the citizens within these areas would travel between the sites that
tourists visit so easily. Experience the checkpoints; get out of the tourist bus and go
through a checkpoint on foot, like the Palestinians have to. Attend to signs that restrict
movement, roadblocks, and earth mounds. Notice the location of the separation barrier
and consider its impact on communities. Compare settler roads with Palestinian ones.
Consider volunteering with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program or Christian
Peacemaker Teams.xcix Also consider how to support organizations like B'Tselem, Gisha,
and Machsom Watch that are working to protect and support freedom of movement for
all.
E. Children
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine probably does its worst harm to
children, Israeli as well as Arab. They live in a militarized world, are taught to distrust
those who do not share their views or their nationality and are offered narratives that
suggest that their own wellbeing must come at the expense of others. They are drawn into
increasingly insular and militaristic communities, where they may become prey to
extremist groups whose interests are not in their wellbeing but only in particular radical
causes. Some are taught that killing the others is a solution.
Palestinian children as young as twelve face abuse and neglect at the hands of
Israeli military courts, which routinely detain them for stone-throwing, associating with
those who throw stones, being suspected of having thrown stones, or even without any
specified crime allegation. Many suffer physical and psychological abuse while in

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