IN STEREO

My artworks vary between political and social. I mostly like to talk about the Authority and Israel, because we’re not living under one occupation – we have two occupations, not one. In my opinion, honestly, it’s clear that they support each other. I see them as one government, not two. I mean, we see, for example, when they enter – [when] the army wants to shoot a martyr or someone – we find the Authority at the camp’s gate or at the [house] door looking at them. If a campaign of arrests happens, the Authority would be coordinating with Israel. I mean, last time I saw someone from Al-Dheisheh when he had an accident here in the area, in Battir, with the army jeep. He went to the Authority so that they would protect him and so on, [and] they told him, “We can’t do anything for you; go and surrender yourself.”

They opened the way for [the army] to get to him. [There are] so many things that I see the Authority stands with Israel. And other than that, the high cost of living and the taxes and these things. I mean, prices in Israel… We have nothing. The cars we have here are one thing, and there, another thing. Everything differs. And also, the money that comes – where does it go? I mean, we hear a lot that money came from Qatar, money came from wherever. [But] we see nothing. I mean, Israel loots and steals lands, and violates our lives, and we also find the same thing here. They have things in common, I mean. It’s not necessary to be like this. But they have the same system. So we escape from here, we find the Authority in our face; we escape from the Authority, we find Israel in our face. That’s our life. – Mohammad