We met today with Edward Evans Vice Consul at the British Consulate and Jeff Tudor Deputy Head of Office for the Palestinian Programme along with a few other delegates. They provided us with a good welcome and refreshments before discussing with us the finer points of the situation and how things were progressing forward with the two state solution in mind. Without a shadow of a doubt, they understood the occupation, had been on the ground and appreciated that settler activity not only harmed the peace process but also impacted on Palestinian lives hugely. They were very much in favour of a two state solution and have worked towards this in a number of ways.
A discussion was had on how international intervention and pressure is necessary for the situation to improve and the reasons why political pressure is held back. Jeff spoke about how the barrier or wall around the west bank put up by the Israeli Administration cut farmers away from their land which they could then only access by gaining a permit. These permits are often refused on the grounds of showing ‘insufficient attachment to the land’ or ‘security concerns’. The Ottoman law still applies and if the land is not farmed for 5 years it reverts back to the state; you can see where this is going. All was said on a ‘’personal level’’ or ‘’informally’’.
We were commended us on the work and projects that we had planned and advised us to make the most of Jerusalem. The people are very welcoming (as we have experienced) and we would learn a vast amount; we would be meeting again before we left for the UK.
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