Sample from my novel Phoenix Green Earth - a brief glimpse at Palestine
They all noticed the distraught mood in the streets. In Haifa a suicide bomber, a representative for the rebellion against the ruthless Israeli colonization and occupation had blown himself up and killed nineteen people. There were soldiers virtually everywhere. Security services were on high alert.
– GOD WILL PUNISH THEM, a rabbi cried in English, as the foreigners passed by. – HE WILL SMITE ISRAEL’S ENEMIES
– It’s such fun speaking with you, Ted said.
– Oh, why is that, the rabbi said suspiciously, and looked stunned at the demon before him.
– Because you’re among the few people in the world deserving absolutely no sympathy, no sympathy at all.
They rented a car and drove to the West Bank, through the countless checkpoints. It took hours for them to reach their destination, and it would probably have taken even longer, if not Linsey and Bella had been on hand to encourage the soldiers to let them through faster.
The Palestinians, in the same queue were understandably in a very good mood, though, since their trip through the checkpoints took far less time than usual.
They sat on a sidewalk café in Ramalla, being recognized, as they had been in Jerusalem, but here there were mostly friendly faces, since their view on the occupation was well known. Only those understandably distrustful towards all westerners looked unfavorably at them. It was a nice change of pace, especially compared to the Zionist part of Jerusalem, but also compared to the world at large.
Their Palestinian contact arrived. He looked like most people did when they met people from Phoenix Green Earth, both apprehensive and excited.
A long walk of detours and caution later they arrived at another house resembling a ruin.
– The basement is somewhat intact, Jamal grinned at them.
They returned the grin. It was a great, horrible joke.
A small group of ten waited down there, in the ragtag «apartment». There were bedrooms and a living room and a kitchen (and holes in the ceiling), anything to make a Palestinian feel at home.
Bella scanned all ten, and nodded to the others.
Liz stepped deliberately away from her group and turned towards the young faces ahead, mostly teenagers and young adults, one young mother with a child, but no older adults.
– I will tell you what I tell everybody, Liz said. – If you go with us you will never return. The conflict you’ve lived with your entire life is merely one of many in a troubled world. You will help your people by joining us, helping us save the world and all life on the planet. The teaching will be cruel and invasive. You need to fall, fall from your preconception and ingrained ideas of what the world is…
Darkness descended on the Palestinian territories. The travelers slept with their newest recruits in the bombed-out building.