West Bank cities witness influx of Israeli ‘tourists’

In spite of large signs installed at the entrances to West Bank cities under Palestinian control strictly forbidding Israelis from entering, increasing numbers of Israelis are entering the West Bank to shop, visit friends and conduct business.

Shuval, an Israeli woman who identifies herself as a prostitute, recently spent several days and nights in the West Bank, visiting the graves of Palestinians killed by Israel and taking pictures beside them. She published the pictures on her Facebook page, stating that she had not been stopped or even asked to show her identity card by Palestinian authorities. “As long as the situation is quiet and under control, the Palestinian security forces do not intervene in this issue,” said a senior Palestinian officer who requested anonymity as he is not allowed to speak to the media.

“If anything unexpected comes up, Israelis are handed to the relevant Palestinian officers [from the Palestinian-Israeli Security Coordination Liaison Office] to hand them in turn to their Israeli counterparts.”

The Palestinians do not have strict rules banning Israelis from entering the Palestinian territories, and in fact encourage these visits since they stimulate the Palestinian economy.

“Particularly on Saturdays, large numbers of Israelis, and of course Palestinians from 1948 areas, enter Palestinian cities,” said the officer.

“We usually urge Palestinians who have Israelis visiting them to report this to the Palestinian security forces to provide them with protection if needed, but for the most part, the suggestion is ignored.”

Palestinians want their leaders to treat Israelis the same way Palestinians are treated by Israel. They say that Israelis should have to apply for permits to enter Palestinian cities, just as Palestinians are required to do to enter 1948 areas.

“The gates of Palestinian cities are wide open, welcoming Israelis to enter at any moment, but this is not the case for Palestinians entering Israel,” said Ahmad Abu Sha’ar, a Palestinian who has applied for a work permit in Israel to no avail.

“Even those who enter Israel cannot move around freely, whereas the Israelis enjoy freedom of movement around the entire West Bank.”

Palestinian law is rarely applied to Israeli citizens, according to Abu Sha’ar, which means Israelis can break the law without any real legal consequences.

“Traffic violations, the issuing of dud cheques and other offences have been repeatedly registered against Israelis, but no measures are taken against them,” he said.

Palestinians caught inside 1948 areas without official permits are initially scanned for security, and if they are cleared, are held until the end of the working day. They are later released at one of the Israeli crossings, but only after signing a pledge not to repeat the violation again.

“The violator will not be issued a permit in future, and will be given a prison term and heavily fined should he commit a similar violation,” Abu Sha’ar explained.

More than 200,000 Palestinians cross the Green Line daily for work, business and medical treatment.

“We are not scared at all when we enter Palestinians cities,” two confident Israeli citizens, who identified themselves as Yossi and Ori, told Gulf News at a meeting in the Palestinian city of Tulkarem.

“Our Palestinian friends usually invite us on special occasions [weddings, funerals etc], just as we invite them to our social occasions,” said Ori.

They not only visit on special occasions, Yossi said they love to spend as much time as possible with their Palestinian friends.

“It’s probably not necessary, but we leave our own vehicles at the city’s entrance and move around in the vehicles of our Palestinian friends,” he said.

“We also like to buy domestic items from the Palestinian shops which sell cheaper and better quality products.”

“Once an Israeli makes a trusted Palestinian friend in the West Bank, which is such an easy task, coming and going becomes really easy,” the two friends agreed.

Yossi and Ori added that many Israeli citizens also visit the Palestinian territories to choose and employ qualified employees for their businesses.

There are, however, other, more sinister reasons for Israelis to visit Palestinian cities.

Israeli signboards banning entry of Israeli citizens to Palestinian cities are visible at the entrance to every Palestinian city. In defiance, the far-right Israeli women’s group, Women in Green, has been launching night missions to add stickers to these signs encouraging colonists to enter West Bank Palestinian cities to challenge the status quo.

source: GULF NEWS