EugeTube: Whose side are you on?

Jerusalem, Israel

When the Palestinian security guy with the snub nosed AK-47 asks you which side your on, there is only one answer. The answer made even easier when you’re chatting with him by the entrance to the tomb of Yasser Arafat.

The town of Ramallah sits in the West Bank, surrounded by the Israeli security wall. It serves as the capital of the Palestinian Authority. Despite the strife a few hundred kilometers away in Gaza, the West Bank is pretty quiet.

The downtown area is not unlike Amman or even parts of Lebanon, and apart from the occasional bit of graffiti, you’d have know idea about the tension that has existed here. On the surface it seems like any normal town; the people are warm, the falafel is delicious and coffee is strong.

Perhaps the most obvious sign of conflict is the wall. From the window of the bus that takes you from Jerusalem to Ramallah, you can see it extend over the hills and into the distance. You can also see Jewish settlers compounds.

Being in a place that you hear about on the news all the time is a strange feeling.

Having spent a total of 6 hours in the West Bank, I’m far from an expert on the politics of the area. It seems like a nice place is all.

After paying respects to Yasser Arafat, we headed to Bethlehem to check out the Church of the Nativity. Unlike Ramallah, this West Bank town was crawling with tourists.

The church was built on the site where Jesus is said to have been borne. Despite is huge religious significance, the tourists here are almost the main attraction. There is a steady stream of pilgrims into the church, singing Christmas carols and hymns.

It’s a remarkable place.