Freedom of movement or why does it take 3 hours to travel 50km?

First before I go into today there has been a comment about my writing style and the fact that people dont want to know what I have eaten etc etc and some other comments which I have responded to. But the fact is I am not a journo, I am trying to be informative on the situations I am involved in along with personal things which some will find interesting and others not. On my return to UK I will be writing a full report which will not include anything about my team (Burnley) my eating habits or the cleanleness or otherwise of my pants. This is my personal account of my time with ISM and I make no apologies for it. Rant over.

This morning I got up at 5.30 with the intention of going to Jerusalem to the British Consulate. The reason for this is that the FBU have organised for 8 firefighters from Nablus to come to the UK on the 23rd October for a month to carry out training that will be cascaded on their return to Nablus which will increase the skill levels of all Firefighters in Nablus, thus enabling them to assist their communities far more effectively. However the visas were applied for in early September and still have not been approved, hence my visit to Jerusalem. The Service bus left Nablus around 7 and made its way through the hills and valleys towards the main checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem crossing several checkpoints en route. At each there is a delay as vehicles are passed through one at a time, as you can imagine it does get busy at all checkpoints so the time taken to travel the 50 km was about 2 and 1/2 hours the remainder being held up at the main checkpoint whose name I have bloody forgotten. The journey though was an eye opener as to the number of settlements that scar the land like Zionist pustules on the face of Palestine. These settlements are illegal, built upon Palestinian land and remain a hotly contested issue, they are way inside the Green Line of 1948 and yet they are continuing to be planned, developed and built.

I got to Jerusalem and the activity outside the Old City was intense as the Israelis have banned any Arab males under the age of 50 from entering the Old City. Army and Police were outside Damascus gate in their hundreds and the situation felt far more critical than it did when I arrived.

I grabbed a taxi and headed to the Consulate and after the usual security checks went through and explained the situation, I am now awaiting a call from there to confirm that the visas have been approved which we can then book flights and its all systems go. As I write this the sirens in Nablus have been whoop whooping and a huge plume of smoke is hanging over the Old City area so I guess the watches are busy but I will pop in later once I have had the call from the Consulate.

So a day off from picking and I am waiting to hear the news of the teams that are out there, today the Palestinians dont have permission to pick olives on their own land so trouble was expected from either the IOF or the settlers, I will keep you posted.

And for the person who wasnt interested in my eating habits: Today I are mostly been drinking.......................................pop!