Afterwards the group met with Moien Odeh and went with him on a tour of the East Jerusalem district Kufr Aqab, where the group learned more about the special and complex situation in the city. Kufr Aqab, though a district of Jerusalem, lies behind the Israeli barrier, in the West Bank. The Palestinians who live here all have the so-called "blue Israeli ID". The Palestinian security forces of the PA, as well as city councils dealing with electricity, water supply or waste management, have no access to Kurf Aqab
The Israeli city administration of Jerusalem and the police are officially responsible here, but due to the location of the district, are not providing Kufr Aqab with any of the above mentioned services. During the tour with of Moin Odeh, the group learned what this particular situation in Kurf Aqaba and many other places around Jerusalem means for crime, urban planning and access to the necessary infrastructure. Moien Odeh is an expert in international humanitarian law, the rule of law and human rights. He has studied in the USA and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, focusing his research on the analysis of legal matters in annexed East Jerusalem and on urban developments and demolitions in the C-Areas of the West Bank.
After the tour the group continued to Ramallah where the they met Dr. Khalil Shikaki, the head of our partner PCPSR. Dr. Khalil Shikaki is a professor of political science and director of our long-time partner Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey, where he has conducted more than 200 surveys in the Palestinian Territories and Israel on a variety of issues. He lectured at several Palestinian and American universities and is still researching issues of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Palestinian state-building, demoscopy, democracy consolidation and transition, and the inner-Palestinian party landscape. With him, the participants were able to discuss the social and political trends of recent years.
The next interlocutor, Sam Bahour, talked about the current, extremely sensitive times in the region and brought the participants closer to life in the West Bank. Sam Bahour is a US-Palestinian businessman, journalist and blogger. He moved with his family from America to the West Bank in the 1990s and has since been involved in the economic development of the Palestinian Territories. He was one of the founders of the Palestine Telecommunication Company and chairman and co-founder of the Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy. His talk focused on the impact of the Israeli occupation and the economic situation in the Palestinian Territories. He made it clear that the economic situation, which is currently very bad, cannot be improved by financial incentives, such as the peace plan of Jared Kushner plans, because it is the political situation that leaves no room for the economy to flourish.
The last item on the agenda was, in addition to a traditional Iftar dinner, the meeting with Zack Sabella, Aseel Baidoun and Inès Abdel Rezak, three very dedicated young Palestinians. The three spoke in an informal setting with the group, about their experiences and their lives in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
