Matkesh Ramon – July 29th, 2000 On the edge of Matkesh Ramon This is the other side to the Middle East. A side that has nothing to do with religion or conflict. Sitting on the rim of the biggest natural crater in the world watching the sunset is an awe inspiring experience. The scenery in [...]
Kibbutz Degania Bet – June 28th, 2000 Kibbutzim were first set up in the twenties when ‘pioneering’ Jews settled in Palestine, working the land in an aim to create a Zionist state. As that aim has been achieved (some fifty years ago), the number of Kibbutzim is dwindling and some fear they will eventually die [...]
Captured Israeli tank in Brashit Hill 880, Irish UN Outpost Brashit, South Lebanon – June 10th, 2000 Standing on the watchtower of hill 880, one of the most exposed outposts of the UN in Lebanon, I began to realise how dangerous it was for the troops before Israel retreated. A former SLA compound is less [...]
Fatima Gate, Kfar Kila, South Lebanon – June 9th, 2000 The crack of the bullets is deafening. There is a lot of screaming and shouting. Chaos. A Palestinian boy has just been shot by the Israeli army on the other side of the border fence, literally yards from where we were standing. Hizbullah stewards, all [...]
Sabra Refugee Camp, Beirut – June 8th, 2000 An utterly depressing place. The Palestinian refugees here live in absolute squalor. Forced out of Palestine by the Zionist ‘pioneers’ in 1948, most fled to Jordan. Misrepresented by the PLO, they again were forced to leave Jordan after the ‘Black September’ massacres of 1970. The refugees soon [...]
Beirut – June 7th, 2000 Two weeks after Israel have withdrawn from the south The procession of cars noisily speeds down the alleyway outside my hostel two or three times a night. Hizbullah flags and banners dangle precariously from the windows as passers-by cheer and clap. The scene is made even more surreal by the [...]
