PALESTINE Memories of 1948 - Photographs of Jerusalem | Page 171

written on our blue identity cards. 16 The residents of
Battir, for their part, did not get a blue card, they got a
green one. Initially that meant that only those holding
blue cards could live in Jerusalem while those with a
green card could only visit Jerusalem. Today, someone
with a green card cannot go to Jerusalem unless they
have special authorization, which is extremely difficult
if not impossible to obtain. After 1967, working in the
village became complicated. I know a few neighbours
who had blue cards and who went to look for work in
Israel, especially in construction. But unemployment
was rising and we were all very concerned.
We have lost some land because settlements such
as Har Gilo, Betar Illit and Givat Yael are spreading,
unstoppable, as is the encroachment of pine plantations
which now cover all the surrounding hill slopes, 17 like a
resinous army confronting our olive trees.
Between 2004 and 2011, our population was around
4500. Once again we thought we were going to disappear
when some Battiri lands close to the railway line were
annexed for the construction of the future “separation
wall” that Israel intended to build through our munic-
ipality. 18 Known as the “security fence” by them, and
as “the apartheid wall” by us, this wall would have cut
off Battir from its neighbouring villages and from its
agricultural lands, which are our farmers’ only means of
subsistence. Additionally, this wall would have broken
Moshe Dayan’s promise to Hassan Mustafa in 1949.
And then to everyone’s surprise, even the Israel Nature
and Parks Authority was opposed to its construction! 19
Once again our future was uncertain, until Unesco 20
agreed to inscribe Battir onto the list of World Herit-
age in Danger in June 2014. It offers both a degree of
protection and a means of survival, because thanks to
this status we now attract tourists from the all over the
world. This is a new challenge for Battir, which cannot
lower its guard. In memory of the man inspired by the
ruse: Hassan Mustafa 
Bethlehem, looking out over the settlements
Hassan
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