Jewish Settlements

Jewish Settlements - Israel

Despite their fortress-like appearance, Jewish settlements like this one near Bethlehem in the West Bank provide homes with modern comforts to the Jewish residents of these settlements. Also near Bethlehem is a refugee camp for the displaced Palestinians, who live in conditions far inferior to those in the Jewish settlements (Palestinian refugee camps are the most densely populated places in the world).

In Jerusalem, I met an American aid worker who explained that life was tough for the Palestinians in the West Bank by design. Israel wants them to emigrate and free up land for more Jewish settlements. So the West Bank "fence" runs through villages, commuters to Israel are made to queue at the checkpoints at 2am, etc. She also said there is a political effort to block religious outreach to the Palestinians. Why? American Christians today accept the oppression of Palestinian Muslims, but that could change if significant numbers of Palestinians were to become Christian.

Travel Tip
To get to Bethlehem from Jerusalem, you will need to show your passport to the Israeli soldiers manning the Bethlehem checkpoint. From there, you need to walk a short distance past the West Bank Wall, and from there take a dilapidated Palestinian taxi to Bethlehem. While the fare can be negotiated down, a generous fare/tip most likely will have an impact on the dinner menu of your driver's family that evening. You don't have to look far to see hardship. My driver looked 60 but turned out to be only 39.