Dark days ahead?

There is talk in the streets that a 3rd Intifada will start on May 30th when Palestinians celebrate "Land Day" or May 15th "Nakbar Day" (Day of Catastrophe). I was told that Palestinians in the West Bank and refugees from Jordan are urged to converge in Jerusalem and retake the city. Now that is certainly going to cause alot of consternation and worry for the rest of us. What we don't want is instability, violence and another war. Believe me when I say tensions are high in the streets. And the killing of Bin Laden isn't helping one bit to quell the rising hatred.

This evening the Israeli Jews marched through our quarter again. They do it once a month. Provocative - some people say. It's a statement to the arabs that the Muslim Quarter where they live is also under Israel's control. Police and soldiers blocked the streets and prevented access to non-Israeli Jews. I was caught out as I had to go out and get a document from another place. The Druze police (I presume, otherwise he would be an arab Israeli) refused to let me go back home (our road was blocked off as it was part of the march route) through the barriers, yelling in arabic at me that he "didn't give a damn about Christians or priests". I spoke back in arabic (he didn't expect that) that I lived inside the blocked route and I have a right to go back home. He rudely pointed me to the other end of the barrier where a soldier let me through. I wonder what his enthusiasm was all about - after all he may be Israeli but he's NOT a Jew ... why pretend to be more Israeli than the real Israelis? Get a life, man! What a loser ... go find your own land to live and defend.