Day 4: Intro to Palestinian policy and some R&R

Sunday, I slept through the fajr, I think my body clock is on West Bank time now.  Flatbread, yogurt, spices, meat, cheese, egg, and most importantly, coffee, I'm ready for another day.  What's in store?  A stop by the Ministry of Planning to attempt to meet with some gov'ment folk, some wander time around downtown and some work from the hotel.  Today is a fair bit colder than the previous couple days, cloudy sky, maybe 50 degress outside, and inside.  I gear up, passport in left front pocket, sheckels in right front pocket, wallet and camera in my "carryall".

Fayez arrives around 9 or 10 and we make a quick dash through traffic (Sunday is a work day) to the Ministry of Planning to meet with the deputy minister (Arab names are hard to remember).  His buddy is working security at the Planning Building today so we park the Focus (full tank of Israeli supplied gasoline at 6.27NIS/L ~ $6.40/gal) behind the Minister's spot in front of the building.  Everywhere we go Fayez seems to know someone.  He explains that the West Bank community is very tight and well connected, nowhere to hide here.  And as a result crime is almost non-existent here (not counting crimes by Israeli soldiers and settlers), contrary to what you would expect in a supposed terrorist breeding ground.  Without an appointment, we stroll through the doors, up the elevator, and into the Deputy Minster's office.  An hour later, and after a very productive and encouraging meeting, we leave with smiles on our faces and a long list of contacts to make during the next few days.  This is Palestinian government: if you have a good idea, let's talk.

We grab a sanwich (turkey) and some argileh and discuss plans for the remainder of the week.  More meetings with government, NGOs and aid agencies and then a day of vacation to the Dead Sea end of the West Bank.

After lunch we swing by The House of Water and Environment, an NGO which works on projects in, obviously, water and the environment (not houses).  We meet Dr. Amjad Aliewi, Director General of the House.  He provides us with a good technical presentation of the water situation in the West Bank, which is pretty dire and not getting any better.  Apparently the Israeli government is claiming large water resources in the West Bank to meet their growing water requirements.  The House of Water and Environment is working on projects to assess current water resources and setup infrastructure to utilize and preserve water resources for Palestinians.  He gave us some very hopeful words about our project, thanked us for working to improve conditions in the West Bank and offered his continued support.



We retire back to the Al-Hajal hotel early.  The local fellas are congregated in the lobby watching a televised, lavish Arab wedding, making comments to each other followed by eruptions of laughter.  I wander over and join the commotion, the other men welcome me and offer a cigarette.  They are curious about where I'm from and why on Earth I am in the West Bank.  Prior to arriving here I thought I should be wary about sharing my identity (as an American) for fear of being bringing unwanted attention to myself.  Now a couple of days into our stay here I've found that the stereotypes are really misconceptions.  These fellas along with all the folks that I've encountered up to now are warm and welcoming, curious about life in the States but happy with what they have in the West Bank, friends, family, work.  The beautiful bride on the TV screen dances to upbeat Arab music, we look on silently, gawking and grinning.