The festival in Oush Grab in Beit Sahour (1km from Bethlehem) was meant to start on Thursday and finish on Sunday. Unfortunately, Palestinians were again shown that they cannot really decide over their own land, over their own festivals, and so forth.
Firstly, a few words about Oush Grab or Ush Grab. It is a high hill in the southern part of Beit Sahour town which used to be occupied by a military camp first by the British during the British Mandate, then by the Jordanians, and eventually by the Israelis. In 2006, when the Israelis abandoned it, the land was handed over to the municipality of Beit Sahour and was meant to be used as a public space. A play area for children, a restaurant, and an open garden for events have already been built on the slopes of the hill. However, on the top of the hill there are military buildings left and the Israeli army still retains the control over it as it is a strategic point with a view over the whole Beit Sahour town.
Furthermore, there is one Israeli group of settlers who are trying to lobby to build an illegal outpost on the top of the hill. They come every week, protected by the Israeli army, to pray on the hill. If they are successful and the outpost is built, the security of the Beit Sahour community will be seriously threatened and more land will be confiscated for building not only the outpost and a settlement after, but also for bypass roads. To protect this piece of land, the Beit Sahour community tries to show constant presence in the area and use it for recreational purposes. The aformentioned festival is just one of the activities organized by the community.
The army together with the settlers turned up on Thursday (the first day of the festival) and announced that that night’s activities cannot take place. Consequently, the organizers of the festival were forced to move Thursday’s events to Monday. Luckily, Friday’s, Saturday’s and Sunday’s events took place without interruption.
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