Our shared taxi van is hurtling down the paved road reserved for Palestinians skirting around Jerusalem to get from Bethlehem to Ramallah. The road is extremely steep, full of hairpin turns, and full of trucks, cars and buses in a hurry to get somewhere. I am thinking, “Glad this road is well paved,” because I have been on lots of rural roads in Palestine that are rutted and pot-holed, or only paved for the width of one car.
Then I think another thought. I wonder if this road is paid for by USAID, a conduit for many millions of dollars of development money our government gives to Palestine every year. (You can Google U.S. aid to Palestine if you are surprised to learn that we do contribute.) I had heard several years ago that USAID was paving roads for Palestinians, so that the Jews could have exclusive use of roads connecting the settlements to Israel’s cities. So all of a sudden this good road became a bad road.
Indeed, this particular steep and curving road was built after Israel barred Palestinians from the direct route North to Jerusalem and Ramallah. What used to take 30 minutes, now takes 80 minutes. What used to be direct, is now this circuitous and dangerous road that takes you on a roller coaster ride into Wadi Nar - the Valley of Fire. The direct route still exists, but only for Israelis or those Palestinians who have obtained a permit to leave the West Bank. Many a West Bank Palestinian has said to me, “You are so lucky to get to go to Jerusalem!”
But the Palestinian traveler can get on a good/bad road and go around Jerusalem to visit Ramallah and points North, like Nablus where I am now. I chose to take the good/bad road with them, and like them I hold my breath around the curves.
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