The Judean Desert is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. It is one of the most seren views where your intimacy with nature can hardly be interrupted except by a passing deer, maybe some panthers, or other animals of types you can hardly find elsewhere around Palestine.
This serenity, and the continuity of the landscape itself, is about to be interrupted by the Grey 8 meter monster that has engulfed much of the West Bank. Israel Has already started preparations for building the Apartheid Wall in the desert. This time Israel is not only grabbing land away from the Palestinians but literally endangering the whole ecosystem of the Judean desert, an ecosystem that is unmatched in Palestine or the rest of the region. It is driving species to verge of extinction due to the separation of the different parts of the desert between which these species will live.
This path was planned for sometime now, but in recent weeks Israelis started taking measures to begin construction. A while ago I discussed a trip to Jericho during which we were forced to take an alternate route, this is primarilly because the original route is to be kept for Israeli traffic only.
The Jordan Valley portion of the Wall, is only going to divide Palestinian parts of the West Bank from each other, in order to annex the Jordan Valley in full to Israel turning the West Bank into three separated territories...
I would have like to end this year with a nicer post, but it was a terrible year anyway, it could not end better.
(For more on this: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807440.html)
(Photo Credits: Ned)