Pope’s stage brings more drama to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
BETHLEHEM, West Bank – When Pope Benedict XVI ascends the modest stage built for him in a refugee camp here on 13 May, he will be standing on a piece of paper buried underneath the stone slabs in which the Israeli Planning Authority states that the platform is an illegal structure. Palestinians here have chosen this site for the pope’s visit, just a couple of metres in front of the concrete separation wall that surrounds the Aida Refugee Camp and all of Bethlehem. They say the wall provides the perfect backdrop characterising the Israeli occupation.
But Israelis are clearly not amused, and just days before the visit, they are insisting the construction has to stop in what Palestinians say is a clear attempt to prevent the pontiff from stopping at the camp, which hosts around 5,000 of refugees forced out of their villages since Israel’s creation in 1948.
A convoy of jeeps arrived here last week to deliver the official letter with the message that the papal stage is illegal and threatening its demolition, even though it lies beyond the wall and falls under the Palestinian Authority’s control.
After reading the letter, the organising committee and the builders decided to bury it defiantly under the white slabs and fresh cement that the Pope will be standing on during his visit.
“It was addressed to nobody, and anyway this is behind the wall, so it doesn’t fall under Israel’s responsibility,” says Karim Amira, a member of the organising committee. “Really, this has nothing to do with planning, it is a political decision not to let the pope visit our camp and stand in front of this wall, which has robbed the villagers of their land. We are now expecting anything in the coming days. Maybe they will arrest us, shoot at us or try to destroy the platform.”
Builders and refugees living opposite the papal stage have been equipped with cameras for any eventuality, as the construction goes on despite the Israelis’ warnings.
Last Wednesday, Palestinian Minister of Planning Samir Abdullah visited the site where President Mahmoud Abbas and folk dancers will be greeting the pope.
“It is strange that the Israelis are describing this as illegal,” he said. “It is very legal and it hides part of the hideous wall which is just behind it. After putting up such a wall here, what do they want now? Why are they looking behind this wall? Are they seeing the misery of the people here and how the wall blocked their view and keeps reminding them of the occupation in the worst possible way?”
Some of the refugees do not believe the pope will make it here, others say nothing will come out of the visit although they welcome him as a holy man. No Christians live inside the camp, but neighbours nearby are expected to flock for the visit.
One of the oldest refugees in the Aida camp, Mohammed Adrahman Azza aged 75, says the only benefit that might come out of it is if the world gets to know about the wall.
“We see it every day, but foreigners might not know about it,” he said. “I don’t expect anything to change because the important American and European politicians are pro-Israel, and the pope knows he cannot change anything.”
The Vatican has made it clear this will be a strictly religious pilgrimage.
“What kind of religious visit could it be to a refugee camp?” Amira said. “I am one of those who believe in this visit. I would like him to say this wall has to be destroyed, that refugees have a right of return, but even if he doesn’t say one word, for me it’s enough to have him photographed in front of the wall. Just that and it’s done.”
Abdullah agrees that the pope’s visit to the camp is essential to show the realities of occupation. “This is only one of tens of refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza and surrounding countries, and the pope should see these because the issue of refugees is an issue that should be resolved and the whole world is now invited to pressure Israel to end this conflict,” he said.
“I think the Pope’s visit will make a difference because he this place epitomises the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and it shows what’s the impact of this conflict on our people, and how it’s making our life difficult, how it’s creating a wall, instead of looking for a future of cooperation, here we have the Israelis continuing in building obstacles on the road for peace and prosperity for both people.”
While the majority of Palestinians welcome the pope, some argue that his pilgrimage will serve to legitimise the occupation.
“Many Palestinians say the pope shouldn’t visit in the current situation, but how can he skirt the issue of occupation?” said Bernard Sabella, a Catholic legislator in the Palestinian legislative council and executive secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches’ department of Palestinian refugees. “He will see the town of Jesus Christ’s nativity separated by this wonderful wall. Even those who are sympathetic to Israel won’t fail to see the wall and its absolute ugliness, symbolising segregation and total control.”
Sabella agrees the pope’s visit will not bring any political development. “What I would like to see from this pilgrimage is Palestinians and Israelis moving out of their victim mentality, because you can’t move forward when you are tangled in victimhood coming out of tragedies of different magnitudes.”
Benedict is touring the Holy Land from 8 to 15 May stopping in Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem in the footsteps of Jesus. Thousands of Palestinian Christians are still awaiting special permits to be able to attend the pontiff’s mass in the last two localities, as Israel bans them from travelling out of the West Bank. Christians in Gaza will remain totally forbidden from leaving the besieged strip.
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Palestinians here have chosen this site for the pope’s visit, just a couple of metres in front of the concrete separation wall that surrounds the Aida Refugee Camp and all of Bethlehem. They say the wall provides the perfect backdrop characterising the Israeli occupation.
