West Bank: cycling unintentionally becomes a very political act

Audio 02:38

By: Alice Froussard Follow

If you sometimes complain about cars overtaking the bike path, bus voices, donkey rides when you're on a bike, think about Palestinian cyclists! Closed roads, complicated or even impossible to cross checkpoints, very restricted freedom of movement, not to mention potential attacks near settlements, a simple walk can become a nightmare for Palestinians. And cycling - unwittingly - becomes an intensely political act.

Publicity

Escape the city, discover new places, cross the surrounding hills, every week, Dennis Sobeh, 30, an amateur cyclist takes his bike and walks the Palestinian roads from Ramallah. But in mid-July, while he was with four teammates, in the north of the West Bank, near the village of Turmus Ayya, a car stops, asking them where they are from; then they see about fifteen colonists arriving in their direction at the top of the hill

“  It was hard to see their faces because they were masked. But the settlers started throwing stones at us from the hill. And they know they can do it with impunity, so that's okay with them.  "

Two of the five cyclists are beaten with poles, and end up in the hospital. Three bikes are broken and a laptop stolen. The Israeli army had to intervene, take the cyclists to the nearby Palestinian village, continues Dennis

“  We did not imagine that by crossing only the area, we would be the target of attacks, and all this, because we are Palestinians. We had to flee to save our skin. And it's a traumatic experience. If we had tried to defend ourselves, they would have shot us and killed us. This is what the colony guard told us.  "

But it is not this incident that will prevent them from continuing, Dennis continues, as there are many obstacles in the West Bank. Go through the checkpoints first, even if the Palestinians have a permit that allows them passage. There are no clear rules for cyclists. And then all the complications related to the occupation and "these areas to which we do not have access", details Mhammad Zarour 35 years old, passionate about mountain biking and creator of the platform "  Palestine Riders  "

“  The changes in the roads that are blocked to us, the new settlements, I can no longer even count the number of obstacles we have to face. And all of this affects the entire cycling community here, because we don't want to hide this reality. Everyone must be aware of what can happen…  ”

There are also these repair concerns. When you have to go to the other side of the material wall, when it comes to bringing in parts from abroad; unintentionally, cycling becomes an intensely political act, a way of reconnecting with the land, but a sport that is difficult to separate from the Palestinian context, continues Mhammad.

“  I remember that before becoming a cyclist, I was far from politics. I wasn't interested in it… Then I started to get involved when all these incidents happened to us. Since the rest of my cycling friends didn't feel like talking about it, I figured someone had to do it.  "

So for two and a half years, he has organized with “Palestine Riders” walks with Palestinians, but also tourists and expatriates. His way of raising his voice and practicing his sport as he sees fit.

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

• Palestinian territories
• Human rights

On the same subject

Gaza Strip: tensions between Hamas and Israel, as negotiations stall

Palestinian factions unite against Israel-UAE peace deal

Saudi Arabia-Israel: no normalization of relations without peace with the Palestinians