For many Palestinians, Jerusalem is so close and yet so far

JERUSALEM // He lives only a 20-minute drive from Jerusalem but for Palestinian Abu Bashir the city and its sacred sites might as well be a world away.

“The whole world goes to Jerusalem but we who live a few kilometres away are forbidden to enter,” he says.

Mr Bashir is a Muslim, living in the West Bank, in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. But since Israel occupied sites which are sacred in Islam and Christianity in the 1967 Arab-Iraeli war, Palestinian worshippers have been increasingly cut off from their holy shrines.

Within the walls of the Old City in east Jerusalem are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Al Aqsa mosque complex and the Western Wall. Israel’s annexation of the Old City was never recognised internationally.

The church marks the site where most Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. The Western Wall is the holiest prayer site for Jews and the Al Aqsa compound is among Islam’s most sacred places.

Regaining access to the Western Wall was a defining moment for Israelis during the Six-Day War, in which Israel gained control not only of east Jerusalem but also territory including the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

For Muslims, access to their holy site is complicated by Israel’s control of the surrounding areas. Before the occupation Arab pilgrims travelled to the Holy City by train or flew to a defunct airport between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

Many Muslim faithful visited Jerusalem before continuing by bus or train to perform the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

“Anyone who wanted to pray in Jerusalem just got in his car and never encountered any roadblocks,” says Mahmud Al Habash, an Islamic religious official in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

But since 1967, movement for Palestinians in the occupied territories is restricted by checks and obstacles, including Israel’s controversial separation wall.

Most of the more than 4.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot visit Jerusalem today without a permit., although older men as well as women and children may travel there for Friday prayer without permits during Ramadan.

Christians also face restrictions.

Father Jamal Khader, director of the Latin Patriarchate seminary in Jerusalem, recalls childhood memories of holy days in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Today the route between the two cities, still followed by religious processions at festivals, passes through the separation wall which can only be crossed with a special permit. There are now those who have only seen the sacred sites in pictures, Father Khader says.

When Christian and Jewish holy days coincide, access is a challenge for Christians. But with so many barriers to worship, many Palestinian Christians have chosen emigration. According to official figures, there were about 25,000 Christians in Jerusalem in 1966. Today their numbers have halved.

To circumvent Israeli checkpoints, some prefer a virtual pilgrimage.

Manal Dandis, a Palestinian engineer, created the Quds360 app for Muslims around the world and particularly local Palestinians. It provides photo and video images giving a 360-degree view of the Al Aqsa complex and its monuments.

* Agence France-Presse