Good kites make good neighbours.

by: Ellen Rosenberg

Middle East: In February 2004, once the Arab villages of Beit Suriq, Katana, Bidu, Beit Sira, Al-Qubeiba and six others realized that they were going to be placed in an enclave had the current security fence route remained, they decided to join forces and petitioned the High Court of Justice to make changes. The residents of Mevasseret feared that a fence on this route would create desperation and anger and that, instead of promoting peace, would upset the relative quiet that has existed between the two communities for some 37 years. Therefore, they asked the court to join the petition of the Arab villages.

During the court deliberations, retired high-ranking military and police personnel testified. They claimed that the route of the fence, in addition to being extremely inconsiderate, would not even provide the sought-for security. They suggested an alternate route that would provide security to Israeli citizens while interfering as little as possible in the lives and income of the villagers.

The legal deliberations ended in May, but the court had not yet given its decision, so the residents of the villages organized a kite-sitting. Kites of various colours and materials flew at Mevasseret Tzion and Beit Suriq as an act of solidarity and a sign of the neighbourly relationship between the two communities. Children and adults of both communities made and flew kites; residents of Mevasseret beside Mevasseret's water tower, while those of Beit Suriq were on an adjacent hill.

The activity joins a series of events that have taken place to generate support for changing the route since residents of Mevasseret discovered that the proposed route of the security fence passes close to the houses of Beit Suriq, preventing the villagers from reaching their fields and orchards. The fields and orchards are an important, and in some cases only, source of income for the families of Beit Suriq. There have been gatherings of Mevasseret and Beit Suriq residents and tours to the proposed route. A Beit Suriq/Mevasseret women's group has been formed. Some two weeks ago, a visit was made to the Al-Sheik family whose house is on the proposed route and who has been served a demolition order. The kite event is one of several planned future events.

A small word on the High Court of Justice ruling; it recognized that the security fence could cause undue grievance and distress to families by separating them from their livelihood. The reaction of the Israeli government was to make some small changes, although they later totally ignored the International Court of Justice ruling that declared the security fence a violation of Palestinian human rights.

Source: info@gush-shalom.org