The West Bank - Israeli Settlements and Palestinian towns

After so much contradictory information on where you can and can’t drive in the West Bank, we decided to take matters into our own hands and just give it a try. The Israeli’s have set up what they call “bypass” roads- roads between Israeli cities and settlements that are “safe” for Israeli plated cars. It’s a strange site to leave Jerusalem and see scores of Palestinian cars parked at the checkpoint- as they grab taxis to come into Jerusalem to work (Palestinian licensed cars are not allowed in Jerusalem).

We drove though Bethlehem and then on to Hebron. We were told not to drive in Hebron by our rental car company- and decided to try it anyway. It’s a typical Arabic town- lots of people and cars and dust, with all the signs in Arabic. We stopped to ask directions and got about 6 Palestinians offering to help (some even offering to show us the sites). Absolutely charming people. We finally found Abraham’s mosque (the site of the 1994 killing of 29 Palestinians by a Jewish man- while they were praying).

Photo Courtesy of Flickr
We had to go through 2 Israeli military checkpoints and then were directed to the Israeli settlement to head on our way out of town. The settlement was a gated community (about 400 residents protected by 2500 Israeli soldiers). Like living in a prison. As we headed south towards Beersheeba, we saw these settlements dotted along the landscape. It was always the same, a sterile town of new buildings on a hillside, protected by a guard tower, barbed wire fencing and a security checkpoint to enter. Across from these settlements, you’d see Bedouin tents and Palestinians with their herd of goats. What a bizarre place.

We detoured and headed east to the Dead Sea and got a glimpse of Masada and the resorts along the Dead Sea. We stopped for lunch at Ein Gedi – huge piles of awful food and packed with Jewish tourists. Then we headed back to Jerusalem. Another dentist appointment at 9:00 p.m. And a clean bill of health to travel. We celebrated with a burger and McFlurry at McDonalds.