This is the wall separating Israel and Palestine. A very sad sight to see that even after the Berlin wall, that building walls are still a solution in some government's minds.
Palestinian soldier
Leaving Bethlehem was a little more confusing. We were given a ride to the border by a nice Palestinian man. The border guards are always on alert because as approached the gate we were shouted at to STOP...STOP...STOP!!! I looked over to him and his gun was raised. This sounds intense but you honestly get used to being around guns while in Israel. Practically everybody has one. But just shows that they do not take this border lightly and are ready to keep anyone out that they don't want. Being used to guns or not, the feeling you get when one is being pointed at you is a feeling I do not want to feel again. All Johno and I could spit out were American and holding our passports out. We were then shown the gate to where you enter by foot. We were attempting to enter the vehicle gate. Very little was asked once at the correct gate. The guard just wanted to see the Israel stamp on our passports and kept commenting on how many stamps we both had in our passports. Johno got him to laugh which is one of his great talents and I was very happy to have him along at this point. While waiting for the guard to look at every passport stamp I noticed another armed guard above us watching our every move. We were let through to the other side and in a taxi back to Jerusalem. I think both of us were glad to be back though not the" kiss the ground" kind of feeling. The tension is very heavy and you feel it on either side.
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