IN STEREO

[Tourism development] would be a great idea, if we do it right. If they’re going to allow people to start building back there, they’re going to spoil the whole area. Some people came in once when I bought the property, and they told me, “Hey, listen, you’ve got a real nice piece of land, it’s level… You should have some kind of project on it.” I said, “What kind of project are we talking about?” “Oh, swimming pools, and...” I said, “No, no, no, no, no.” I’m fine with the way it is right now. We need some nature, which there isn’t much left of. I encourage [tourism] because it provides more money to invest in the Makhrour area. That’s the only area of open land that’s left, you know, all over Beit Jala and Bethlehem.

I mean, look at this mountain: we used to sit in the front yard of the old house here, and we could see the deer jumping all over the rocks. That was about thirty years ago. Now, as you see, it’s too crowded. So if we encourage tourism, absolutely, that will provide some money for Wadi Makhrour. But we have to know how to do it, OK? The other day I was going down to Al-Makhrour, and I saw a flock of those settlers walking down through people’s land. So I encourage tourism, but to a certain limit. It’s a beautiful area, but as I said, we need the right management, and we need some people to start taking care of their land. – Jamal