Pictures from the wall

On a visit to Israel and Palestine, we traveled the short distance from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, only about 20 km which is considered to be in 'Occupied Territory.' We had to cross through a checkpoint as robust as the border itself just to visit Bethlehem.  The West Bank is called such because it's the West side of the Jordan river, but this name is controversial, as Jews refer to it as 'Judea and Samaria' considering it part of Israel.

"The Ottoman Empire lost control (of the west bank) in World War I. Jordan took possession in 1948, but its claim was shaky at best. Israel took possession in 1967 (during the six day war) pretty much the way the Jordanians did 19 years earlier. It conceded part of it to the Palestine National Authority in 1993, but has entered and left as security demanded. There remain Jewish settlements sprinkled throughout the West Bank. Some are on land privately owned by individual Palestinians, and they represent a problem for Israel. Others sit on land that Palestinians claim, based on nothing more than "Grandpa told me it was his." It is more accurate to describe the area as "disputed" rather than "occupied."" (Source)

A giant wall separates the West Bank from Israel 'proper', and though Israel controls it militarily, it allows Palestinian leadership and policing. The wall is like a giant prison wall to Palestinians, many of who can't visit family members, go to work, or school due to the wall's random route through streets and villages. There's lots of graffiti on the wall we found interesting.  Praying for the peace of Bethlehem, the West Bank and Jerusalem.