UKC

Primarily through the eyes of West Bank residents, Anas Askar and his brother Urwah, the film takes a look at being a climber in Palestine and the problems that impromptu roadblocks and illegal Israeli settlements can mean in order to just reach the crag. Ultimately, irrespective of where we live the film hopefully shows that the reasons why we climb are similar but under some circumstances, the act of going climbing serves an even greater importance.

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In reply to UKC News:

Great that you featured this video. I meant to link it on the Ondra thread earlier this week because I think the crag is the same one he visited, but possibly he went through the Settlement, not around? I think it was mentioned in the article.

In reply to UKC News:

Very good film. Hopefully this will encourgae the folks in the West Bank to carry on, and people in the wider world to perhaps go visit.

In reply to UKC News:

I thought this video was excellent. Very difficult to strike the correct tone with respect to the impact of the political and security issues of the West Bank and I think this was achieved perfectly.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I liked the chap interviewed too, about not being competitive with his brother. I thought his attitude sounded very similar to mine, I consider myself very good at going climbing (early starts, car sharing with mates, chatting with others at the crag, drinking coffee from a thermos, working out which route is which from bad guidebooks, sun bathing etc.) It's just the actual climbing I'm not so good at! He seemed to have an equally relaxed philosophy.

Hope they get a chance to come on a BMC international meet.

In reply to TobyA:

"Sometimes I let my brother put in the quickdraws". Disgraceful. I would never dream of that kind of that kind of behaviour

In reply to UKC News:

flippin brilliant, this is what Ondra should be supporting

In reply to UKC News:

Absolutely fantastic. 

In reply to UKC News:

I ended up spending 3 weeks in Ramallah over Christmas. I was on my way to Jordan via Tel Aviv (cheap EasyJet flights!) and had planned to spend a few days in the West Bank. After being welcomed into the Wadi climbing community though, I took out a month’s subscription at the gym and spent my entire holiday in Ramallah.

Anas is one of the most open, decent and gentle human beings I have ever met. The atmosphere at the wall is very refreshing. People are really into the whole ‘movement’ thing, and spend as much time doing gymnastics, circus acts and slack-lining as they do climbing. There are at least as many women as men.

I was taken out to the local crags a few times. Personally, I found it very disturbing to hear gunshots, explosions and see smoke rising while I was bolt-clipping in the sun. People were being killed less than 5 km away but the Palestinians remained nonchalant – it's all they’ve ever known. I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s, but this was like the Troubles on steroids.

The situation at the Ein Fara crag – which is on Palestinian land –  is a good illustration of the daily humiliation and injustice that Palestinians experience every day. We would park the car outside the settler colony above the crag and have a 40 min walk to the routes. Israelis would be able to drive through the colony and park on the other side, giving them access in just 5 minutes.

At the crag Israelis and Palestinians would socialise together, belay and encourage each other. The atmosphere was very relaxed and inclusive. (Jesus would have been a climber, of that I am sure!) But at the end of the day the Israelis would head off to their cars in one direction, and the Palestinians for a much longer hike in the other. I asked Anas how they could put up with such discrimination, but he just shrugged his shoulders and said: “What we can do?”

I thought this film was brilliant and I thank everyone involved. It caught the tone beautifully, even if it didn’t fully illustrate the violence, brutality and injustice of the occupation.

In reply to grooved rib:

This is geographically incorrect about Ein Fara. There are two ways to the park entrance. One through a settlement and one not. The second is open to Palestinian cars. Anyone, Israeli or Palestinian,  can then enter the park and drive down to the bottom. Where it is 5 minutes to the crag. This is a popular area for Palestinian picnickers, and many Palestinian cars are there on Fridays. By walking 40 minutes you avoid paying entrance fees. I suspect that is why they walk in.

Note also that under the Oslo accord (as agreed by both the PA and Israel) all national parks on Area C are under Israeli management.

In reply to MikeTS:

Where does the entry fee go Mike?  Presumably to the Israeli national parks authorities? And do cars entering from the settlement pay the same fee?

In reply to MikeTS:

The entry fee to the park is almost £6 per adult per day, which prices out most Palestinian climbers. Non-Palestinians can park for free in Almon settlement and benefit from a much shorter approach hike. Palestinians aren't allowed to do this.

Remember this crag is on occupied Palestinian land and Almon settlement is illegal under international law. The Israeli park authorities manage the crag and Palestinians do not have any say in how it is run. You say this was agreed by both parties during the Oslo accords, but the general consensus is that these accords have been a failure, partly due to Israel's policy of relentless settlement expansion.

I have read that local residents from the settlement get a considerable reduction on the cost of an annual pass, whereas Palestinians from surrounding villages are not eligible. Can you confirm or refute this?

 

 

In reply to TobyA:

All pay the same fee. As far as I know settlement cars pay the same. Anyone can get an annual pass  which is worth buying if you go more than 4 times a year. (I have one) So I suppose those that live there do this. It goes like all national parks on things like access roads, trail maintenance, security (including a lifeguard at the pool in Ein Fara which is mainly used by Palestinians incidentally), signage and maps (which are all in English, Hebrew, and Arabic), and garbage removal. The biggest financial issue with the parks is that if you (whatever your nationality) have an accident in them you can sue the Parks Authority even if they have done nothing wrong. So the Parks authority keeps closing down crags to reduce their liability. 

Essentially by climbers not paying they are freeloading on those that pay. (And of course making climbers even more unpopular withe Parks authority) And remember there are poor Israelis and rich Palestinians ( I have seen the latest model BMWs and Mercedes with Palestinian plates parked there). And the Israel Climbing Club set up and maintains the bolts and chains. Some acknowledge by the Wadi climbing company that they are using but not contributing would be nice.

And the geography is not as the other poster said. If you want to avoid paying you park just before the entrance to the settlement (anyone can) and walk around the settlement fence and down into the wadi. Otherwise you drive into the entrance, pay, and drive to the car park at the bottom. near the crag. No one parks in the settlement and walks - there is no point. Bottom line - you can walk and usually evade paying, or drive and pay. Israelis and Palestinians have exactly the same choices here.

 

In reply to MikeTS:

Thank you for your contribution Mike. After reading lots of conflicting information on the internet, I contacted a Palestinian climbing friend who told me the access situation is as you describe ie. both Israelis and Palestinians have the option of hiking or paying the park entrance fee.

However, I take issue with your statement that Palestinians who choose to hike rather than pay are "freeloading" the system. The concept of freeloading on your own land which is illegally occupied and managed by government authorities for which you have no representation is heavy with irony!

Also, you say you would like the Wadi climbing community to acknowledge that the Israeli climbing club maintains the equipment (in my experience this is already the case)? Are you ready to acknowledge that the Israeli climbing club equipped a crag on Palestinian land without first consulting with local Palestinians? I think both communities have benefited from a very commendable entente between climbers which has transgressed politics. Asking for "acknowledgement" is not going to help.

Over the past few years members of the Wadi community have equipped many new routes themselves, particularly at Yabrud in Area B. My understanding is that the Israeli military restricts access to this area for Israeli citizens, which is a great shame.

Finally a great example of cooperation between climbers is at a semi-secret crag not far from Ein Fara which was equipped by Israelis. Again there is an illegal settlement on top of this crag and climbing has been banned. Because the sport is still mostly associated with Israelis, Israeli number plates are very conspicuous in the crag carpark, but Israeli climbers get around this by driving there with Palestinians whenever possible

In reply to grooved rib:

thx

It costs money to run a national park. It takes a lot of work to equip and maintain a crag. It is irrelevant who made it possible, Palestinian or Israeli. A commercial climbing outfit like Wadi should pay their share and make acknowledgement to whoever did this.And certainly not encourage its clients to avoid payment.

That this is Palestinian land is very tendentious. There are two sorts of meaning here. Legal sovereignty, which is clearly Israeli right now in area c because of the Oslo agreement. This, much as you dislike it, is still both the mutually agreed and the international accepted legal status. The second is private ownership. I am unaware of any validated private title to the park. And the Israeli Supreme Court  does a great job of upholding validated and documented Palestinian private ownership in area c. A settlement was recently dismantled as a result of this. Your Palestinian friends may claim ownership. But this does not necessarily make it true.

Sure. I would love to climb there but is is both illegal and dangerous for Israelis to enter area b. There is an irony here. Palestinians can climb in area c. But Israelis cannot in areas a and b.

Well yes it is secret so we will leave it at that.

In summary you are aiming at the wrong target. Their are many terrible things being done by both sides in this conflict. But Ein Fara (my playground!) is not one of these.  Israeli and Palestinian climbers can come together to enjoy this beautiful crag. I agree it is not perfect. There are many places in the UK with worse access issues. But, if this model of near peace were expanded to the region it would be fantastic. Let’s acknowledge this please. 

In reply to UKC News:

PS. The ownership of Ein Prat is distinct from the adjacent settlement. It is a national park that was established (according to the climbing guide) in the 1950s. Presumably by the Jordanians who occupied the West Bank then. So israel  has continued to manage a pre-existing status. 

 

In reply to MikeTS:

No need. I'm not trying to win an argument, I just want to understand the place!

The Oslo agreement was discredited a long time ago. Successive American administrations have tried to find a better solution, but all have failed. The very unequal balance in military power makes it extremely difficult for Palestinians to negotiate anything like a fair deal.

The biggest irony is surely that Area C is recognised internationally as being Palestinian, yet you congratulate Israel on letting Palestinians climb there and want them to acknowledge how fortunate they are! Further irony is that it is an Israeli military warrant which prevents you from climbing at Yabrud, not Palestinians!

My target (if you want to call it that) is the 50 year occupation of the West Bank by the Israeli army. What sets Ein Fara apart is that the Israeli administration discriminates against climbers in general, regardless of whether they are Palestinian or not. As you know there are kilometres of rock at Ein Fara which NOBODY is allowed to climb on, mostly for liability reasons. Basically this is what Ondra's 'Climb Free' statement was about. I am pretty sure that a Palestinian administration would not ban climbing for liability concerns. Your playground could be a whole lot bigger!