So now it is Feb '09. My second visit to the Occupied Territories, and I'm anxious about going through the same 3 1/2 hour interregation process all over again.
This time when I got to Zurich, to catch my connection flight to Tel Aviv, I was filled with dread. How long would they hold me, interregate me, harass me?
My security checks begin in Switzerland.
"Where are you going?"
"Tel Aviv"
"And?"
"Mmmm... Haifa, the Dead Sea maybe, and Jerusalem."
"Ok, thank you sir. Have a nice flight."
What?! No strip search? No questioning? I thought it must have been luck. I sat through the whole flight thinking it'll be worse when I get to Tel Aviv.
Again though, when I got to passport control in Israel's Ben Gurion airport, it was an anticlimax - they asked me the purpose of my visit. This time I say "holiday." They asked me where I was going. I say "Tel Aviv, Dead Sea, Jerusalem."
They wave me on. 5 minutes. Wow. The relief is crazy. What a difference not mentioning the West Bank makes...
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