Passover - living history

As children, we were told at school about the festival of Passover, and it sank in as a fairly benign kind of celebration, for all that it evokes a dark event in Jewish mythology. Simply because the uninitiated were bowing to the ‘wrong’ god and hadn’t heard about the magic trick of eating unleavened bread, they were killed off by the dark angel. But it was in The Bible, so to our unworldly primary-school lady teachers it was ‘good’. Anyway, it was all past history, and just celebrating it must be harmless.

Harmless no doubt, for most Jews in the world, but like the Battle of the Boyne in Belfast and Glasgow, it is living history in Palestine. The army of occupation announced a "general closure" of the West Bank during the Passover holiday, which began on Sunday 17th April (Palestinian Prisoners’ Day) at 11:50 p.m. and continues for ten days.
The closure will affect Palestinians with work permits, barring them from access to Israel and Jerusalem until 11:50 p.m. on 26 April.

A perfectly incoherent statement from military authorities said the decision came "In accordance with the directives of the Minister of Defence and as part of the situation assessments adopted by the defence establishment."

A hearing was held in the Israeli Central Court on Sunday: a young man and 3 children from Silwan were arrested on charges of throwing a bottle at Israeli troops during clashes in the previous week. 
Palestinian residents of Silwan speculate that Israeli forces’ recent campaign of arrests in the village may be part of an attempt to establish a “quiet atmosphere” in the lead-up to Passover, thus allowing Jewish ‘settlers’ and visitors to Silwan a “trouble-free” festive period.

http://silwanic.net/?p=14913

Exceptions to the closure might include those in need of medical attention, humanitarian aid or exceptional assistance and Christian Palestinians "holding the relevant permits," for Easter holiday celebrations - although this is the official statement and not a binding guarantee. For instance, Egypt's Rafah crossing will be opened on Monday only for Gaza residents registered as pilgrims on the Ummrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Speaking on behalf of Palestinian Christians, the Kairos Palestine group called for unfettered access to holy sites and an overhaul of Israel's permit system, which the group called an "obvious violation of the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights], Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international covenants and treaties to which Israel is a signatory."

Officials said on radio that there were warnings of possible soldier abductions, following a Hamas call on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, to capture soldiers in order to ensure the release of Palestinian political prisoners. Israeli officials announced heightened “security” measures around Jerusalem. Israel's police department told the radio station that extra officers would be deployed around areas where Christian pilgrims (with permits) might gather for the upcoming Easter holiday.

A member of a Silwan family stated that “an overwhelming number of Silwan’s youth have been seized and their detention extended recently. We take this as a precautionary tactic employed by Israeli authorities in the lead-up to their holiday of Passover. We, meanwhile, must suffer the closure of roads, acts of provocation and the arrest of our children – throughout every Jewish holiday.”

Photo: Greek Orthodox Priests wait for the arrival of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of

Jerusalem Theophilos III, outside the Church of the Nativity.

[MaanImages/Luay Sababa]