Palestine Experience – 7 Day/7 Night Tour

9.00am. You will meet the group at the Jerusalem Hotel Cafe. Your trip will start with a briefing with maps and an alternative tour of Jerusalem's Old city, taking in the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Selpuchre in addition to seeing the Israeli settler homes that have been sprouting in the Muslim Quarter. You'll learn about the implications of Israeli encroachment into Muslim areas of the Old City and surrounding neighbourhoods. After lunch you will go on the road for a tour of some of the suburban Jerusalem settlements, Palestinian neighbourhoods, the Separation Barrier, and segregated roads. These will include Pizgat Ze'ev, Har Homa, Beit Hanina, and Anata. Then off to Beit Sahour to meet your host family after a busy and intense first day.

Today you'll be with a Palestinian guide for an overview of Bethlehem. You'll see the settlement of Har Homa that you saw from the Jerusalem side of the Barrier yesterday. Today the view will be from the Palestinian side. The guide will take you for an up-close walk along the Separation Wall that surrounds the city. Learn about the impact of the Wall on local Palestinians and how it has been used for art/graffiti by various artists, including Banksy. You'll visit the Aida Refugee Camp, and have a discussion with a representative of the local Youth Centre there. You’ll have the opportunity to meet with locals in the Camp and hear their stories. Visit the Walled Off Hotel, developed to attract tourists to this once abandoned area in Bethlehem - and to provide the history of the occupation through art at the museum inside, as well as to help local artists display their works in the Gallery. Head to Manger Square, where we will visit the Nativity Church and Old City A visit to Mar Saba, a highlight of the tour, that offers spectacular views of the Judean desert and Monastery.   In the evening your guide will take you for a night out to explore the nightlife in Bethlehem. (options will be provided for things to do and what to see)

You will be picked you up early in the morning. You'll travel up the spine of the West Bank on route 60 seeing many small radical settlements and Palestinian villages. You will visit to the Samaritan village on Mount Grizim, and learn about tis ancient people who have survived despite the odds against them. The next stop will be the Balata Refugee Camp where you'll see the crowded conditions and hear some stories about life there. You'll also visit one of the camp organizations that helps make life a little better for the residents. The tour will include the Old City with its beautiful labyrinth of buildings dating back to the Ottoman period. You'll visit the ancient Turkish baths and an olive oil soap factory. You will also visit sites of historical and religious interest such as Jacob’s Well; a deep well dug by Jacob and where Jesus once asked a Samaritan woman for a drink.

From Bethlehem you'll drive around the east of Jerusalem through the Judean Desert to Ramallah. You'll see many Jewish settlements en-route and enter the city through a checkpoint into the neighborhood of Kufr Akab. The Separation Wall divides the neighborhood from Jerusalem although it is part of the municipality and the residents pay city taxes. You’ll visit Arafat's Tomb and walk the streets of this bustling city, now the de-facto Capital for Palestinians in the West Bank After lunch you'll drive to Hebron and visit Abraham's Tomb and the Old City where Israeli settlers live in close proximity to the local Palestinians. You'll meet locals and visit a glass blowing workshop that recycles glass from the city, crafting beautiful objects.

You'll travel from Bethlehem south to the village. On arrival at Beit Ummar you'll meet your host Mousa, and settle in to your room.  You'll stay in dormitory accommodations in his family home that has comfortable lounge areas, a balcony and outdoor space. Hot drinks are always available in the kitchen. Just help yourself and make yourself at home. There is wireless internet throughout - so you can sit under an olive tree while getting your email, or use the computer in the lounge. You'll spend the day walking the village with Mousa, meeting local families to learn about their life and issues with land confiscation and settlers. Beit Ummar is a Palestinian Muslim village between Bethlehem and Hebron in the middle of Israel's Gush Etzion settlement bloc. In addition to the formal program of activities, you are encouraged to wander the village, meet people, and soak up the atmosphere. There are also adjacent country areas where you can stroll through the olive groves.

In the morning you'll visit farmers in their fields and homes around the village and see firsthand the situation with the settlements which have been built on confiscated land. You'll also be learning about the Palestine Solidarity Project. The villagers have developed a strategy of non-violent resistance to the Occupation and organize a variety of activities. These include accompanying farmers to their land when there is a danger of settler violence, replanting destroyed trees, and resisting home demolitions. They also have established a women's embroidery cooperative. You will have an opportunity to learn about these activities, and meet activists in the village to learn firsthand about their work.

You'll take a field trip with Mousa to the South Hebron Hills and visit villagers in areas under threat by settlers who have lost much of their land and are constantly harassed when they attempt to cultivate their land close to a settlement. En-route you'll pass the Kiryat Arba settlement, a city being built at the edge of Hebron. Some of the South Hebron residents live shacks, tents and caves. You'll have an opportunity to meet them and learn about their lives.

You'll depart for Jerusalem after breakfast, either with public transportation or by private car if you prefer. The Host will help with where to take public transport from the village If private transfer is preferred, then arrangements should be pre-arranged.