By Hadar Susskind and Ori Nir
Yesterday, we wrapped up APN’s ten-day 2024 Israel-Palestine tour. We met with Israelis and Palestinians –
politicians, civil society activists, families of hostages and experts. We were at Kibbutz Be’eri in the
south and at Um El-Fahem the north. We saw East and West Jerusalem, as well as Tel Aviv and Haifa.
We visited a country whose citizens (and residents) are struggling with immense trauma, pain, and sadness. We
listened with empathy to everyone we saw, even when it was extremely difficult. It was a full program, all of the
participants who took notes are running out of pages in their notebooks. Interestingly, perhaps the most compelling
moments were the unscripted ones, those that suddenly emerged to surprise us. One such moment took place during our
settlement watch tour with our colleagues from Shalom Achshav. When trying to enter a road near the West Bank
settlement of Shiloh, two guards at the gate-- both settlers who were drafted for reserve IDF service-- told us in
very blunt terms that Arabs are not allowed in. As we had two Palestinians on the bus (our driver, who is a
Jerusalem
resident, and our guide, who is an Israeli citizen), we were denied entry.