The Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels are smuggling tunnels that had been dug under the Philadelphi Route along the Egypt–Gaza border. They were dug to subvert the blockade of the Gaza Strip to smuggle in fuel, food, weapons and other goods into the Gaza Strip. After the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, was split by this buffer zone. One part is located in the southern part of Gaza, and the smaller part of the town is in Egypt. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Philadelphi Corridor was placed under the control of the Palestine Authority until 2007, when the terror organizationHamas seized power in 2007, and Egypt and Israel closed borders with the Gaza Strip. In 2009, Egypt began the construction of an underground barrier to block existing tunnels and make new ones harder to dig. In 2011, Egypt relaxed restrictions at its border with the Gaza Strip, allowing Palestinians to cross freely. In 2013–2014, Egypt’s military destroyed most of the 1,200 smuggling tunnels. Experts estimate the total length of the tunnel system to be 480 to 500 km, which is where the nickname “Gaza Metro” (subway) comes from. read more…
The Rockefeller Archeological Museum, formerly the Palestine Archaeological Museum (“PAM”; 1938–1967), is an archaeologymuseum located in East Jerusalem, next to Herod’s Gate, that houses a large collection of artifacts unearthed in the excavations conducted in the region of Palestine, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, under the British authorities. read more…
The Arab Souk Couk, also known as the Arab Souq Couq, Arabic Market of Wondrous Expectations or Suq El-Bazar, is a large bazaar occupying approximately 100 acres (400,000 m²) of area in the Old City of Jerusalem. About 800 merchants operate a variety of businesses in closely-packed shop stalls along a network of alleyways primarily in the Muslim Quarter and the Christian Quarter, located in the northern part of the Old City. The New York Times described the market in a 1982 publishing as “an explosion of colour, movement and smell.” read more…
Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the site of fierce fighting during the 1948 war. During the 1948–1967 period, it was occupied by Jordan at the edge of a no man’s land between the armistice lines. In the 1967 war, it was occupied by Israel. Latrun is located outside the 1967 Green Line and therefore part of the West Bank in Palestine. read more…