0:00:02 > 0:00:04Reya El-Salahi, taking you through Sunday evening.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05I'm Reya, and I'm 25.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09On my weekly radio show, I explore race and identity in Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14My own background is complicated - I'm mixed Arab Muslim and Jewish.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Now I'm going to Israel to try to understand the conflict
0:00:20 > 0:00:21that divides my own family.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Bitter conflict over land and power in Israel between Jewish Israelis
0:00:27 > 0:00:31and Arab Palestinians has been going on for decades.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37It's a really dangerous place to be the sort of person that I am.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And I can imagine a lot of people won't take that well.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I'm definitely not ready for some parts of Israeli life.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51And in some places, being mixed puts me in a difficult position.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53My dad would not be allowed here,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and he'd be mistrusted.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I see the divisions created in the name of security...
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I can't imagine what it would be like, this is your view
0:01:01 > 0:01:04out of your bedroom window.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07..and ancient divisions that leave me isolated.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I know it's not religion itself and blah, blah,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12but religion is bullshit.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16I see victims of the conflict here on the Palestinian side...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20My eyes and skin are burning, I feel like I'm going to be sick.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23I can't see justification for shooting tear gas at kids.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26..and I see how Palestinian violence affects Israelis...
0:01:26 > 0:01:29His head just... SHE POPS
0:01:29 > 0:01:31..popped off like a champagne cork.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35I don't know if I'm going to find any place in this country
0:01:35 > 0:01:36where I could belong.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I'm haunted by what I saw. That will never leave me.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Growing up mixed race in Britain is complicated,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53but my background is extra difficult.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57My dad is North African Arab, from a Muslim background.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00My mum was born and brought up in Britain, but she's Jewish.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06When my mum met my dad, her mum actually refused to meet him.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10My mum's side and my dad's side, we don't mix too much.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13I'd love for both sides of the family to be more integrated
0:02:13 > 0:02:17and put aside their politics, just to be able to have
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Christmas together, of all events, or Eid or Hanukkah.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26My family wrestles with how to feel about the conflict.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Even my Jewish mother has her doubts about Israel...
0:02:30 > 0:02:33I was born just after the war, always heard my parents
0:02:33 > 0:02:38talking about the Holocaust. And Israel was somewhere to look to
0:02:38 > 0:02:42and to support - it was our place. But my views on that changed.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48And I now, and for many years now, don't support a Jewish state.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53I want a secular state for everyone in the Middle East.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Am I Jewish or am I Muslim?
0:02:55 > 0:02:58At the moment, that's not something that I'm willing to decide.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I feel like I'm both and that is the answer.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03My brother, Zaki, went to Israel ten years ago
0:03:03 > 0:03:06in a pro-Palestinian student group.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08You don't want to see people being killed anywhere,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11but Israelis, they've got to accept that if they occupied
0:03:11 > 0:03:15someone's land, there'll be a reaction.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18There's that sense that you have your opinions,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and you're quite kind of sure in what you think.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23And then the other side of the family, that are more
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Mum's side that are more pro-Israel, have their opinions
0:03:27 > 0:03:30and it's like there's no middle ground.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34I really want to go to this place that is such a source of contention
0:03:34 > 0:03:37in my family, in the world, and experience it for myself
0:03:37 > 0:03:40and have my own opinions, rather than what one side of my family
0:03:40 > 0:03:44tells me and the other side of my family tells me what I should think.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46'It's my farewell dinner.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48'My family is supportive of my journey to Israel
0:03:48 > 0:03:53'but well aware that parts of it will be dangerous, too.'
0:03:53 > 0:03:55I'm quite scared about it.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Zaki went there and he almost got shot.
0:03:57 > 0:04:03I wish that you go there and do your job and come back safely.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Bye, house!
0:04:12 > 0:04:17The best outcome from this trip for me, the absolute ideal would be
0:04:17 > 0:04:21to come away feeling like I know more about who I am.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26The worst thing that could come out of this is that
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I feel like I don't belong anywhere.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33I want to come back feeling like it's opened a door to find out more,
0:04:33 > 0:04:34not like it's closed a door.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48My first experience in Israel is not a good sign.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Everyone in the crew gets through passport control
0:04:51 > 0:04:54but I get taken away for questioning.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57At first I was like, "Here we go".
0:04:57 > 0:05:00But it's to be expected, isn't it?
0:05:00 > 0:05:03I can't come here with a name like El-Salahi
0:05:03 > 0:05:05and expect to be walking through,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09waving, skipping, holding hands with security guards.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13But at the same time, it is just funny to sit in that room
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and everyone in there is brown.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19And everyone getting through with no problems seems to be lighter skin.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Maybe that's just a coincidence, but that the only other guy in there
0:05:23 > 0:05:26was called Mohammed. Oh, what a surprise!
0:05:26 > 0:05:29"Hi, Mohammed, I'm Reya El-Salahi, nice to meet you."
0:05:31 > 0:05:34The modern country of Israel was founded in 1948,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37following the Holocaust of the second world war.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Before that, Jews were scattered all over the world.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But Palestinian Arabs say this land is theirs
0:05:44 > 0:05:47because they've lived here for over a thousand years.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51My first impression of Israel was a bit intimidating.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54But tomorrow, I'm meeting some young Israelis who will help me
0:05:54 > 0:05:57figure out what Tel Aviv is really like...
0:05:57 > 0:05:58I hope!
0:06:06 > 0:06:07I'm meeting Keren Cohen,
0:06:07 > 0:06:12a Jewish girl born in Israel, who went to university in the UK.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15She moved back to Tel Aviv two years ago,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17and she and her friend Shenae are keen to show me
0:06:17 > 0:06:19what they like about Israel.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Hey, lovely to meet you! I'm Reya.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Hey there, nice to meet you.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25- Shenae.- Hello, lovely to meet you.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Thank you for taking me round today. I'm very excited.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- We have to have our bags checked? - Yes.- OK.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Whenever you're going in and out of shops?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- You have to get your bags checked. - Any public area.- Oh, wow.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Keren and Shenae have decided I'm going to get to know this city
0:06:41 > 0:06:44with some good old-fashioned retail therapy.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Is it wrong that I'm going straight for the disgusting bright pink?
0:06:48 > 0:06:49- Don't do it!- Poptastic!
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Thank you! I'm feeling ready to go out now.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Yeah, now we're ready.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06I was having such a great girly day.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10But then on our way to the beach, we heard there had been violent attacks
0:07:10 > 0:07:12by Islamic militants on a town just three hours away.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Eight people were killed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19'The bus attack was quickly followed by two more coordinated assaults.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'Within minutes, an anti-tank missile blasted a private car,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25'and a roadside bomb blew up Israeli soldiers
0:07:25 > 0:07:28'on their way to help the bus victims.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:31For me that's really scary. Does it not, in a way,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34put you off living here, that there is that, in as much as you've
0:07:34 > 0:07:37got this like beautiful beach life, beautiful shopping,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39you've got that sinister side?
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Just like anywhere else,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44you can, I don't know, get run over by a car.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48I don't think that it shortens my life that I live in Israel,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51because anything could happen anywhere.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54We grew up in this reality, so we kind of get to know it.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56It still shocks us every time,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but we just know that we have to carry on.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03After a few drinks on the beach, it's not too hard to forget
0:08:03 > 0:08:06about the threat of violence. But I don't know
0:08:06 > 0:08:08if I could live with it every day,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10like young Israelis do.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Today, I'm going to one of the most contentious places in Israel -
0:08:18 > 0:08:21a Jewish settlement called Itamar.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Earlier this year, a settler family was brutally murdered there.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Two young Palestinians from a nearby village
0:08:28 > 0:08:30were arrested for the killings.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33I've been invited because of my Jewish side,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36but, given my Arab side, I'm not sure what reception I'll get.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Today...
0:08:40 > 0:08:44..I'm going to have to swap all that
0:08:44 > 0:08:48bright pink...fluffy stuff
0:08:48 > 0:08:52for this body armour,
0:08:52 > 0:08:53which is really weird.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56In the space of two days in the same country,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58that was yesterday, this is today.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Settlers are Zionists who believe they have a sacred duty
0:09:04 > 0:09:07to build communities everywhere in Israel -
0:09:07 > 0:09:10on land that Palestinian Arabs say is theirs.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Settlements are considered illegal under international law.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Itamar is surrounded by Palestinian villages,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20deep in the heart of disputed territory.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24It's protected by the Israeli army and security is really tight.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28I'm meeting Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith, the mayor here.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31God gave us our homeland
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and obviously the deed to the land is the Bible.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37We have right to return to our land and we have to work hard for it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Moshe shows me a memorial to young people killed in attacks
0:09:41 > 0:09:44on the settlement.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Gillard Stiglets, Avro Mushoff, Ceto Enshmal.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50All these boys from the school,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53these three were killed here on premises - these three boys.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55He looks so young...
0:09:55 > 0:09:58They are, sure. They all were. Don't forget, they're up to
0:09:58 > 0:10:0117 and 18 years old, each of these boys.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03This is very, very difficult tragedy.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06This is the price, a terrible price, Israel is paying
0:10:06 > 0:10:08to be Israel, just to want to live.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It's a bit strange. I think some members of my family,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17they wouldn't be allowed here, which is why I feel so uncomfortable.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19My dad would not be allowed here
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and he'd be mistrusted, which is why it's really strange.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25But...I'm interested to find out more.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32I was really surprised and pleased when Moshe invited me to his home.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35He's lived here since 1985, when the settlement was just
0:10:35 > 0:10:36two rows of houses.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Now, over a thousand people live here.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48Moshe's daughter, Merav, is studying to be a make-up artist in Tel Aviv.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51What's life like living here, for young people? Is it fun?
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Yeah, I love it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57The world is upside down, everything, you know, is so mixed up.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00And my head, like, hurts and I come here
0:11:00 > 0:11:04and I feel peaceful, like, I feel like, "Ah, I'm so happy,
0:11:04 > 0:11:09"I'm so lucky to live here." It's kind of like a bubble.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13'Like her mum and dad, Merav is very proud of being a settler.'
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Here, it's exactly the heart of the land.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22And if someone, like... If you take a heart out of a person,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24you can't live.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I always say, everyone who lives in Israel is a settler.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Moshe took me to the site of the horrific crime
0:11:30 > 0:11:34that happened here nine months ago. The Fogel family lived here.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38Both parents and three of their children were murdered
0:11:38 > 0:11:41on a Sabbath night, including a three-month-old baby.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I can't begin to imagine what that must be like.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'The two young Palestinian men arrested for the murders
0:11:47 > 0:11:50'were from the village of Awarta, just across the valley.'
0:11:50 > 0:11:52The daughter, Tamer, who was 12 years old,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55she's the oldest daughter of the family,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59she escorted her friends, at around 10.15, out of the home.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03At that moment, one of the terrorists looked and they saw one
0:12:03 > 0:12:05of the kids in the house, they ran into the house
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and they locked the door from the inside,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and they grabbed a hold of this boy and they cut his throat.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15Then they went into the next room and they killed another boy.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19They went into the parents' bedroom, and they first killed the father,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23then the mother came out, and they murdered the mother.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26They went out of the house, they heard the baby crying,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29they went back in and they cut the throat of the little baby,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32they stabbed the baby. A little tiny baby about that big.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36The Fogels' daughter, Tamer, discovered the bodies
0:12:36 > 0:12:38of her family when she came home.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40She ran out of the house, screaming,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44the whole community woke from her screams.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47And, unfortunately, we found this horrific story,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51this terrible bloodshed here.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Two of the Fogels' little boys survived because they were asleep.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Along with their sister, they don't live in Itamar any more.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01What did it make you think of the people who did it
0:13:01 > 0:13:05in the village, that's just in sight of where we are?
0:13:05 > 0:13:09It's almost hard for us to believe they could do something like that.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12More of disbelief. Like, how could human beings could come along
0:13:12 > 0:13:17and, in such a cruel way, murder children, a family, on the Sabbath?
0:13:17 > 0:13:21What would you say to people who would say that this is Palestine,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25this is the West Bank and so this is Palestinian territories?
0:13:25 > 0:13:28I would say to them that the best seller of any book
0:13:28 > 0:13:32in the world is the Bible - and the Bible is an outright history,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35the deed to the land of Israel for the Jewish people.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Although I was shocked by the murders,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I found Moshe's beliefs difficult to get my head round.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47I can't understand how, based on a book,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50you can feel you have a right to live in a land.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53It just doesn't make sense to me YET.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56But I couldn't stop thinking about the Fogel family.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59I'd love to know what my brother would say
0:13:59 > 0:14:03about a child his daughter's age being stabbed in her cot.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I don't know what he'd say about that because the loss of life
0:14:09 > 0:14:12on either side is wrong and terrible,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14but that's just one side of that story.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20People are dead, that's a fact, but I'd like to speak to...
0:14:20 > 0:14:24the other side, I'd like to hear what the other side had to say.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28If I can, later in my trip, I'm going to visit the Arab village
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Moshe pointed out, so close across the valley to Itamar.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37But first, I want to find out about one defining feature
0:14:37 > 0:14:39of Israeli life.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Israeli citizens must join the army for two to three years
0:14:41 > 0:14:45and it's an important shared experience for most young Jews here.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Arab Israelis are exempted. They CAN volunteer, but it's rare.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I meet a young lieutenant called Keren Hajioff.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00The Israel defence force has arranged for me
0:15:00 > 0:15:04to spend the day with her in her flat, and tomorrow on her army base.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07There's a press officer with us all the time.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12THEY CONVERSE IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:15:16 > 0:15:20He's got no basil! I mean, who doesn't have basil in their market?!
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Keren was born and grew up in London,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26but two years ago she moved here on her own to join the army.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29In Israel, women serve on the frontline and in combat.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33I asked her what prompted such a huge decision.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Israel is just such an important part of Judaism
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and, I mean, there's so much of a reason to be here,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44so much of an importance as a person for me to be here
0:15:44 > 0:15:48and I've never been this happy in my life
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and I was a happy, spoilt little British girl in London.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Then Keren gets a call -
0:15:54 > 0:15:56there's been another attack by Islamic militants
0:15:56 > 0:15:58in the south of Israel.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04There's been a rocket attack on a school in Be'er Sheva.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Which is where your base is?
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Which is very close to my base.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14They told everyone in the area in the south of Israel
0:16:14 > 0:16:18just to stay in shelters, not to leave the shelters
0:16:18 > 0:16:20until further notice. Don't know how long that'll be.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Does everyone have a shelter in their house?
0:16:23 > 0:16:24That's how we have to live.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Even here, there's a shelter cos it's Israel which is...
0:16:28 > 0:16:29We're threatened on a daily basis.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33'Despite what had happened, Keren remained so upbeat
0:16:33 > 0:16:35'about the army and Israel.'
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I notice on your hand, is it a tattoo?
0:16:37 > 0:16:39It's not actually a tattoo.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I don't know why, I take a pen and draw the Star of David on my hand.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Whenever I look at the watch, it's just like,
0:16:44 > 0:16:49"What's the time? Oh, it's time to, like, love Israel." I don't know!
0:16:49 > 0:16:52She's British, she speaks with a British accent,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55she grew up in Britain, spent most of her life in Britain,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and yet, to her, it sounds like this is home.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01And I find that so strange, cos for me, Britain is home.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Cheers, guys. Thank you for...
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'I meet Keren and her friends for a drink.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11'They're a close group, all Jewish and mainly from London, like Keren.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'Some live here, but three of the girls are on holiday.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:18At home, we tend to live near each other, go to similar schools, camps,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21quite similar synagogues, so we do tend to mix.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24We're quite insular, I guess, without meaning to be
0:17:24 > 0:17:25because of who's around.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I think that's one of the things that people our age
0:17:28 > 0:17:31love about Israel - where you go, everyone's Jewish,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34you go to a club, and everyone's Jewish. It's just really nice.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36I found this idea strange.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Maybe everyone THEY hang out with is Jewish
0:17:39 > 0:17:42but that doesn't mean everyone in Israel is.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52We're driving to Keren's base in the far south.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56We'll be passing close to areas hit by the Islamic militant attacks,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58so I'm a bit nervous...
0:17:58 > 0:18:00at first.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Safety here is vital.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Don't go in any area that I don't tell you to go.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Make sure you stay with me the whole time.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Shooting is something that every soldier has to go through.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17They need to know how to protect themselves.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19At the end of the day, we're an army
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and we're here to defend a country and a people.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25So we're going to go now. Don't be scared, I'm with you!
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Hold my hand, I've got you. It's fine.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- OK, you ready?- Yes, I'm ready. - Amazing, let's go.
0:18:35 > 0:18:42Good afternoon, we are now going to do some shooting.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I will now give the order to fire!
0:18:47 > 0:18:50SHE SHOUTS ORDERS
0:18:51 > 0:18:54GUNFIRE
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Check you are on safety, stand up.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Hold your weapons at 60 degrees in the air.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Ten out of ten! Well done!
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- He got ten out of ten?- Yes.- Am I all right to take these off?- Yes.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Everyone's stopped shooting.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31What about you? Eight out of ten for a girl - that is impressive!
0:19:31 > 0:19:33You're a chauvinist.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37I'm not - I'm showing the world that women can do this too!
0:19:38 > 0:19:42I thought, coming down here, that I would really want to have a go.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44I was really pumped, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Seeing that, I definitely don't want to.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And the thought of me as an 18-year-old being given a gun...
0:19:50 > 0:19:54I hate to think. There's x amount of people standing within
0:19:54 > 0:19:57arm's reach of me with deadly weapons.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00And I've never ever experienced that before. People my age.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02So that was quite weird.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Keren brings me to try out an armoured personnel carrier.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12OK, hold onto everything, nothing falls off.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14And...there you go.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17The next step that's going to be brave of you,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19you have to put on a helmet. Put it on like this.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24- It doesn't fit on my head.- It does, you've just got to yank it.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28- What happens if you've got a big hairstyle?- That's why you don't.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- I'll hold onto it.- You can.. OK, hold onto it. I'll wear the helmet.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40I'd seriously have a freak-out. I'd freak out. It's so tight.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Do you know what's crazy? People our age have to sleep in this.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46I really doubt what I've experienced today
0:20:46 > 0:20:49is what army life is actually like.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54'She's not just saying it, she clearly loves being here.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56'But it just feels like propaganda.'
0:20:56 > 0:20:59And I don't feel like I'm going to leave this place with any
0:20:59 > 0:21:02better understanding of what it is that makes people come here
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and give three years of their life to this army.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Right now, if someone asked me, I wouldn't have a clue. I wouldn't.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16I'm moving on to Jerusalem,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19the city at the heart of the conflict in Israel.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22It's a fascinating but divided place.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Palestinians and Israelis both claim it's THEIR capital city.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31The different cultures and religions don't seem to mix -
0:21:31 > 0:21:35East Jerusalem is Arab, and west is Israeli.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39It's also had some of the worst violence -
0:21:39 > 0:21:40between 2000 and 2011,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44there were over 40 attacks by Palestinian militants.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47The last one was nine months ago.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Some of the most important religious sites in Judaism
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and Islam are right beside each other here.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59I'm going to visit the Western Wall for my Jewish side
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and the al-Aqsa Mosque for my Arab Muslim side.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03I'm not religious,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07but I'm hoping that such spiritually important places might give me
0:22:07 > 0:22:12a little taste of the faith people like my dad have.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15But today, things go wrong from the start.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Once again, what a surprise, I'm the only one stopped
0:22:18 > 0:22:21as we all walk through and somebody from the crew has to say that
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I'm with you, otherwise I'm not allowed through
0:22:24 > 0:22:26because I have to be checked.
0:22:26 > 0:22:27What a surprise!
0:22:27 > 0:22:32I am boiling, it's hot and I'm wearing respectable clothes
0:22:32 > 0:22:35whilst loads of other people are wearing far less than me.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I'm hot and bothered.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42Then I discover that the Western Wall is segregated.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46Look at that - the men's wall has loads of space
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and women get like a little section.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53As I approached the wall, I change my mind.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54I just don't want to be here.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Just doesn't mean anything to me
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and in one sense feels a bit disrespectful to go.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05So I don't really want to, and do the whole walking backwards thing.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07And have to cover my hair.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11For most Jews, the wall is literally the holiest place they'll ever go.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16For me, that's all the more reason that dividing it up is wrong.
0:23:20 > 0:23:27I moved on to visit al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30But once again, I have problems from the start.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34This time, they won't even let me in.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42'He doesn't accept that I'm Muslim.'
0:23:52 > 0:23:56The first thing it made me do was I went and called my dad.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59He's the most religious person I know.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02We've just tried to go into the al-Aqsa Mosque
0:24:02 > 0:24:05but they won't let me in because they say I'm not Muslim.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Is that normal?
0:24:07 > 0:24:11My dad was like, "No, that's not what being a Muslim is about."
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It's just been such a disappointing afternoon.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18The religion stuff is such bullshit.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22I know it's not religion itself, and blah, blah, blah...
0:24:22 > 0:24:25but religion is bullshit.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Being mixed race, sometimes, is really cool,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32cos it means you have entry to more than just one culture.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35But sometimes it means you have entry to none.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38It's like you're all or nothing.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And today it feels like...
0:24:41 > 0:24:42I'm more nothing.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07This is the barrier built by Israel, which separates itself
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and the Palestinian region of the West Bank.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17It's hundreds of miles long.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Most Palestinians can only travel through the barrier
0:25:23 > 0:25:25with Israeli permission.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29I can't really imagine what it would be like that this is your view
0:25:29 > 0:25:32out of your bedroom window every morning.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Israelis say the barrier is for security
0:25:36 > 0:25:40and prevents suicide bombers getting through.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43But Palestinians say Israel has used it to take control of land
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and restrict their freedom.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50I've heard the Jewish take on Israel.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Now, I want to hear from the other side,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54so I'm crossing the barrier line.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Oh, I hate these things.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02'First, we have to pass through a checkpoint called Qalandia.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05'Checkpoints are controlled by the Israeli army
0:26:05 > 0:26:07'and there's a lot of security.'
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I feel completely caged in.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12It's tight and there's people trying to get through.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Imagine rush hour - everyone trying to get to work, through there.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I would not want to face a checkpoint every day of my life.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Even being in there for two minutes, I feel pissed off.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25If I had to do that and I was running late for work
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and I hadn't had time to do my make-up and I was trying to get
0:26:29 > 0:26:35everything done as it is normally on a Monday morning, I would be livid.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Now we're in the West Bank,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52on the way to the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Crazy - just a half-hour drive
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and you're in a completely different world.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02No Hebrew written down any more.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04My brother was here nine years ago,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08when the Israeli army launched a crackdown on Palestinian violence.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It was a dangerous place then.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15I want to see what it's like today.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Stars and bucks!
0:27:16 > 0:27:19It's not at all what I expected.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21I'm already quite in love with this place.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I feel really kind of connected to it in a way I haven't yet.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29I haven't been in this country and felt like, ah, I get this.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32But I really get this, this is cool.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37This doesn't feel like Israel at all. At all.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Now that I'm seeing the West Bank as Palestinian,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51it's strange to think that Itamar is in this area.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I'm going back to visit Awarta,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56the village just across the valley from Itamar.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01The young Palestinians arrested for murdering the Fogel family came from here.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04My first thought when I heard that was, what would drive somebody
0:28:04 > 0:28:06to want to kill a child in a cot
0:28:06 > 0:28:09and then, by the sounds of it, not feel any remorse.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13That's what I was told and kind of wanted to find out for myself
0:28:13 > 0:28:15if that's what the feeling is.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I had hoped to meet the families of the arrested men,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21but when I arrive, they're too upset to talk to me.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Instead, I meet a villager called Khalid, who knew the two young men.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29He tells me what life is like here since the murders.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Did you understand, after what happened, why the Israeli soldiers
0:28:33 > 0:28:36came here and interrogated the villages,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41because babies were killed, a baby was killed in its cot in this crime?
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Khalid says, since the arrests, the villagers' movements
0:28:54 > 0:28:56have been restricted.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13As tragic as what happened to the Fogels was, I'm wondering
0:29:13 > 0:29:17if it's right that the whole village be punished.
0:29:17 > 0:29:18I think it's almost irrelevant
0:29:18 > 0:29:23whether the people living in Itamar have a right to this land or not.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28I think the real issue is... You can't... It's just not fair to have
0:29:28 > 0:29:34one village on one side of the hill is gated off and has running water
0:29:34 > 0:29:39and is relatively modern, and on the other side of the hill,
0:29:39 > 0:29:44you've got dirt-track roads and people delivering water on a donkey.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50Itamar and Awarta feel like they could be a million miles apart.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55'Back in Ramallah, I'm meeting up with Zainab Musleh,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58'a Palestinian student who grew up here.'
0:29:58 > 0:30:00She remembers Israeli soldiers in her home
0:30:00 > 0:30:03during the crackdown nine years ago.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07We didn't go to school for two months or three months.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10We were not able to go out of our houses.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Israeli soldiers used to take our houses and live in them,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16in the same house.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19'Zainab protests for Palestinian rights
0:30:19 > 0:30:22'and has strong political beliefs about the conflict.'
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Do you ever feel sorry for young people
0:30:25 > 0:30:27perhaps living somewhere like Tel Aviv,
0:30:27 > 0:30:32a young girl, your age, who is worried about maybe suicide bombers?
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Do you sympathise with that?
0:30:34 > 0:30:37- No...- Why not?
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Because when I see kids,
0:30:40 > 0:30:45when I see babies in Gaza getting killed for doing nothing,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48when I see kids being...
0:30:48 > 0:30:52in jails because of the Israeli occupation,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56I can't sympathise for those people.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Do you find here that people are ever friends with Jewish people?
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Of course, there are many. Jews are not bad,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06not all Jews are bad, not all Jews are the same.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08'I wasn't prepared for Zainab's idea
0:31:08 > 0:31:11'of how things could ultimately be resolved.'
0:31:11 > 0:31:13So, what would you like to see happen?
0:31:13 > 0:31:20Them going out of our country and returning to where they came from.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24But, for some of them, they were born here.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25They were born here,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29but they were born here as...
0:31:29 > 0:31:32people who are occupying this country.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Their fathers occupied us, killed us, their grandfathers.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38They came from all around the world, so they can go back.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44If the United States loves Israeli people this much, so give them,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48they can give them shelter. US is very big.
0:31:48 > 0:31:49It's bigger than here.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57'I can't understand how Zainab could think that way.'
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Saying that all Jews need to go to America because America likes them
0:32:01 > 0:32:03is bullshit. Like, it's not going to work,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05it's unworkable, it's unrealistic.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08And she also did that thing that so far has bugged me
0:32:08 > 0:32:11about a lot of the Israeli Jews that I've met,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15about talking about Jews as though it's "them".
0:32:15 > 0:32:19And I understand that it comes with completely different experiences,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23but it's just as ignorant as the other side of things
0:32:23 > 0:32:25that I've been listening to.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31'Today is the last Friday of Ramadan and I'm going back
0:32:31 > 0:32:34'to Qalandia checkpoint at the West Bank barrier
0:32:34 > 0:32:38'to see a demonstration against Israeli restrictions.'
0:32:38 > 0:32:45From what I've heard, these protests are really passionate
0:32:45 > 0:32:48and people are really, kind of, even, like, violent at times.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51And so, in a way, I'm quite, kind of... It might sound wrong,
0:32:51 > 0:32:56but kind of excited to see a different type of demonstration.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01'This is a very holy day, so Palestinians are queuing
0:33:01 > 0:33:04'in the hope they'll be allowed to enter Jerusalem
0:33:04 > 0:33:07'to pray in al-Aqsa mosque.'
0:33:09 > 0:33:13'During Ramadan, the Israelis restrict access to men over 50
0:33:13 > 0:33:15'and women over 45.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17'This is the women's queue.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20'Many have been waiting here, in the hot sun, for hours.'
0:33:20 > 0:33:24When Zainab was talking yesterday, my first reaction was, like,
0:33:24 > 0:33:26"Oh, it's the other side of the coin,
0:33:26 > 0:33:28"it's just as vengeful and hateful
0:33:28 > 0:33:31"as the other side of the argument I've heard."
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Seeing this today, I'm understanding exactly what she means.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36If I have to go through this,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39just to go and do something that's part of my culture,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43and you have people like Keren, who I met at the IDF base,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46who talked about this being fun and loving it so much
0:33:46 > 0:33:48and protecting her country...
0:33:48 > 0:33:50She was born in Britain, her family were born in Britain,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Zainab's family have lived here for hundreds of years.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55This is not fair.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58There's no human exchange here, the way they're dealing with people.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01They're standing there, like, with guns that are loaded
0:34:01 > 0:34:04whilst women and children walk past them.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16CALL TO PRAYER
0:34:18 > 0:34:23'It's time for noon prayers, so these women are praying in the road.
0:34:23 > 0:34:29'Once prayer's finished, the demonstration begins.'
0:34:30 > 0:34:33The mood's completely changed within a couple of minutes.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38Kids are running around holding stones in their hands.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40CHANTING
0:34:41 > 0:34:44We're having to move completely out of the way.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48We've been advised to just move out of the crowd.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51CHANTING
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Someone's just thrown a stone.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Across at the soldiers.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10'Immediately after the first stone is thrown from the protesters,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13'Israeli soldiers fire tear gas into the crowd.'
0:35:15 > 0:35:17'It creates complete panic.'
0:35:21 > 0:35:23SIRENS AND COUGHING
0:35:27 > 0:35:32'The tear gas is really powerful and works so fast.'
0:35:32 > 0:35:36My skin's just fucking burning, my eyes are burning.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38It's just fucked up...It's like...
0:35:38 > 0:35:40REYA SNIFFS
0:35:42 > 0:35:44CAR HORN HONKS
0:35:44 > 0:35:47- MAN:- What happened?
0:35:47 > 0:35:49You want some help?
0:35:49 > 0:35:52What happened?
0:35:52 > 0:35:55No, it's fine, thank you.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57I don't have a right to cry.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I don't have to go through this at all.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03But it's like fucking kids, like, running along
0:36:03 > 0:36:07being, like, tear-gassed, like, kids, like the same age as my niece,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10like a kid that was about six or seven.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12'It's just total chaos here.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14'And it gets worse.'
0:36:14 > 0:36:16SIRENS
0:36:20 > 0:36:21Oh, my God!
0:36:25 > 0:36:28'Luckily, there was no-one in the back of the ambulance
0:36:28 > 0:36:31'and no-one was seriously hurt.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35'I can't stop thinking about how most of the people there today
0:36:35 > 0:36:38'could face the same thing next week.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:40I'm not easily shocked
0:36:40 > 0:36:43but I'm completely haunted by what I saw,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that will never leave me.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48Dealing with people like they're animals.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57'I want an explanation about what I saw at the checkpoint.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00'The Israeli Defence Force agrees to give me
0:37:00 > 0:37:03'an interview with a senior press officer.'
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Two stones were thrown as far as I saw.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09And the response, immediately, was that a tear gas canister
0:37:09 > 0:37:11was fired into a crowd of people which included me,
0:37:11 > 0:37:14other press, which included old women, old men,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16people with children, babies
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and also soldiers who didn't have tear gas masks on.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Why was there no warning?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Our experience shows us that when we use,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26when we don't use that immediately,
0:37:26 > 0:37:29then the stones increase in their number...
0:37:29 > 0:37:32But why was there no warning given before they were thrown?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Was there a warning for the protest? I don't think so.
0:37:35 > 0:37:41'I tried to explain how it felt on the other side of the barrier.'
0:37:41 > 0:37:44It still, to me, felt as though I was going into a different world,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48where, all of a sudden, people with guns were shouting at me and...
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Well, how would you protect yourself? Tell me...
0:37:51 > 0:37:56I mean, I can tell you as an Israeli, forget the uniform.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58I'm a mother of three children.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03Between the years 2000 and 2006, I forbade them from going to malls,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06from using public transportation,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09or even walking along on the streets without me.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Imagine 1,000 people, amongst them Arab Israelis,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15that were killed only from suicide bombers,
0:38:15 > 0:38:20in restaurants, in coffee places, in malls, in buses.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23You have to understand where we're coming from
0:38:23 > 0:38:26with the security situation here.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30'I appreciated the chance to put my questions to the IDF
0:38:30 > 0:38:34'but it didn't change my opinion of what happened at the checkpoint.'
0:38:34 > 0:38:38If the same happened in Britain after the suicide attacks
0:38:38 > 0:38:40and I was stopped from moving around
0:38:40 > 0:38:42because my dad happened to be Muslim,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44and told, "You can't travel to London any more
0:38:44 > 0:38:46"because there've been suicide attacks."
0:38:46 > 0:38:48There might not be any attacks afterwards
0:38:48 > 0:38:50but why should my freedom be curtailed?
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I'm a human being, I have just as much right to freedom
0:38:53 > 0:38:55as her and her kids.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04'I haven't yet had that moment of feeling connected to Israel
0:39:04 > 0:39:06'that people have told me about.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08'I still feel like an outsider.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12'But I've managed to track down distant relatives
0:39:12 > 0:39:14'of my Jewish mum's family here in Jerusalem.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19'My second cousins. Maybe they'll give me some connection here.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20'But there's a lot at stake.'
0:39:20 > 0:39:22This could be quite life changing, if we find
0:39:22 > 0:39:27the first part of our family that actually live here,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30and I get on with them, it could mean the rest of my family
0:39:30 > 0:39:33coming out here and spending time with them.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36So, yeah, I am nervous about this one.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38I feel like I've dressed like a nun,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40schoolgirl, first day at school.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48'My cousin's name is Amir Levin.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50'He and his wife, Efrat, have three young children
0:39:50 > 0:39:53'and live in a suburb of Jerusalem.'
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Thank you! These are for you to say thank you for inviting me.
0:39:57 > 0:39:58Thanks a lot.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01It's a very small thing but thanks so much for welcoming me here.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04'Amir and Efrat made me feel really welcome.'
0:40:04 > 0:40:11London, I was born, and then moved to Oxford when I was, oh, how old?
0:40:11 > 0:40:14About five. And lived in Oxford ever since.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18It's lovely there, good excuse for you to come and visit and see it!
0:40:18 > 0:40:20- I loved Oxford. - What were you doing there?
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Just touring. But it's so beautiful.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Yeah, it's lovely.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30'I could see a real resemblance between Amir and my mum!'
0:40:30 > 0:40:32It's not a very good picture of her,
0:40:32 > 0:40:34she'll probably be very unhappy with me showing that.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37That's her with her champagne and the dog.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39- I want to see your mother. - Let me show you!
0:40:39 > 0:40:41What does she do?
0:40:41 > 0:40:43She worked in publishing.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48'Amir showed me old photos of our family.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51'His great-great grandfather and my great-great uncle
0:40:51 > 0:40:52'was Shamaryahu Levin,
0:40:52 > 0:40:54'one of the early leaders of the movement
0:40:54 > 0:40:56'that led to the founding of Israel.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58'It's amazing to think I'm connected
0:40:58 > 0:41:02'to someone so significant to the history of this country.'
0:41:02 > 0:41:06His eyes look so much like my mum's eyes, it's really weird!
0:41:09 > 0:41:12'Amir explained that Jerusalem in particular
0:41:12 > 0:41:15'is not always an easy place to raise a family.'
0:41:18 > 0:41:23Here you see the conflict, it's everywhere, every day,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26and it doesn't always feel very nice.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31We have many similar problems, like many other places in the world
0:41:31 > 0:41:37but what's different is that we live very close to an "enemy,"
0:41:37 > 0:41:39mixed up with them,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44everyday life, you feel the danger, you know,
0:41:44 > 0:41:49my daughter, we thought to let her use the bus,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53and just now happened to be a terror attack somewhere.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57And then I'm saying, "No, I'll take her, I'll drive her."
0:41:57 > 0:41:58So it's always...
0:41:58 > 0:42:04and how do you explain to a little child not to make him hate Arabs
0:42:04 > 0:42:07but to be aware that it's very complicated?
0:42:11 > 0:42:16'Meeting the Levins gave me a different insight on Israel
0:42:16 > 0:42:18'and we make plans to stay in touch.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20'I wish my mum could have been here.'
0:42:20 > 0:42:22It does make you reassess things.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24It's funny how as soon as it's your family,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26even if it is family I've only just met,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29as soon as your family are the ones being in any way attacked
0:42:29 > 0:42:32it, kind of, changes what you think
0:42:32 > 0:42:35and how you feel about the situation.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37So yeah...
0:42:44 > 0:42:47'Walking down these streets in Jerusalem,
0:42:47 > 0:42:51'the thought is never far away that a bomb might go off.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55'Between 2000 and 2006 there were 25 suicide bomb attacks
0:42:55 > 0:42:57'by Palestinians in Jerusalem.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02'187 people died and hundreds more were injured.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04'Avigayil Spero is a Jewish Israeli girl,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08'who amazingly lived through four separate bomb attacks
0:43:08 > 0:43:09'before she was 22.'
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Nice to meet you. I'm Reya. How you doing?
0:43:14 > 0:43:17'Avigayil moved to Israel from the US with her family
0:43:17 > 0:43:18'when she was eight
0:43:18 > 0:43:21'because her father wanted to live in the Jewish homeland.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25'Eight years later, Avigayil was on her way home from school one day
0:43:25 > 0:43:28'when a triple suicide bombing happened just here.'
0:43:30 > 0:43:33There was this huge blast,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36and it hits me,
0:43:36 > 0:43:38and I go flying against the wall.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42There were a few moments of just deafening, deafening silence,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45the silence of death,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49and then, immediately afterwards, panic.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Everyone started running towards the opposite direction
0:43:52 > 0:43:56and people were screaming and running all over the place.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59That was the only bombing in which I saw the body
0:43:59 > 0:44:00of the suicide bomber.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04But the interesting thing was,
0:44:04 > 0:44:09was that his head just... popped off like a champagne cork
0:44:09 > 0:44:13and it was a few good metres away from him
0:44:13 > 0:44:15and his head was in complete tact,
0:44:15 > 0:44:22he had gel in his hair and it was in perfect condition, his head,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25but his body was completely fucked up.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30'Five people were killed and 181 injured in the bombing.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'Avigayil witnessed a second Palestinian suicide bomb attack
0:44:34 > 0:44:36'near here but wasn't hurt.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41'A couple of years later she was caught up in yet another attack.'
0:44:41 > 0:44:44I didn't realise that I was injured for a while
0:44:44 > 0:44:47because of the adrenaline, I didn't feel pain yet, at that point,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50but I started feeling something drip down my face
0:44:50 > 0:44:54and I looked down and I see blood all over my clothes
0:44:54 > 0:44:56and that's when I realised that I was injured.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Some people tell me, "You're lucky. God is looking out for you."
0:45:00 > 0:45:05So what kind of God would subject me to this in the first place?
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Avigayil lost her job after that attack.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11She now works as a trainer for rescue dogs, like Jimmy.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Although the attacks deeply affected her,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16I'm amazed at the outlook she now has on them.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19People just want to live their lives at the end of the day.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25And the Palestinians, a lot of the Palestinians,
0:45:25 > 0:45:28have been robbed of a lot of their basic freedoms and rights,
0:45:28 > 0:45:34not only by the Israelis, by the way, also by their own government.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38But I can understand where they are coming from,
0:45:38 > 0:45:39I can understand their anger.
0:45:40 > 0:45:45That's amazing, that sense of kind of having compassion
0:45:45 > 0:45:47is something that I've been looking for since coming here,
0:45:47 > 0:45:52and one of the things that I've experienced since being here is the wall that was set up,
0:45:52 > 0:45:58and heard a lot of people say that Israel is a safer place because of that wall.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01It is, and that's a fact, and I have mixed feelings about the wall,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04but the effectiveness of the wall
0:46:04 > 0:46:08has proven itself over the years. It's indisputable.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11'Like meeting the Levins, meeting Avigayil has given me
0:46:11 > 0:46:15'a new understanding of the Israeli side of this conflict.'
0:46:15 > 0:46:17I think she's a really amazing person.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22I don't know, hand on heart, that I could say if the same thing happened to me
0:46:22 > 0:46:26if I would be so...progressive in my thoughts
0:46:26 > 0:46:30and not fall into that trap of blaming a group of people
0:46:30 > 0:46:33where, in a country like this,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36it seems like the easiest thing to do when anything goes wrong.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Despite the current tensions, we've been given the OK
0:46:42 > 0:46:45by our security advisors to go to Gaza,
0:46:45 > 0:46:48one of the most dangerous places in the Middle East.
0:46:48 > 0:46:53I'll get to see life there and speak to a young Hamas activist.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55There's a real risk of being attacked or kidnapped
0:46:55 > 0:46:59by Islamic extremists, so we only have a window of a few hours.
0:47:05 > 0:47:10When I spoke to people, I realised that to really understand this place, I had to visit.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13So no second thoughts at all, but...
0:47:16 > 0:47:20..I am feeling a little bit panicky.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Gaza is a tiny Palestinian area on the southern tip of Israel.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29Over a million Palestinians live there. It's completely fenced in,
0:47:29 > 0:47:34and Israel tightly restricts access for both people and supplies.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40But inside Gaza, the militant Islamic group Hamas are in control.
0:47:40 > 0:47:45America, Europe and Israel consider Hamas to be terrorists.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48By closing off Gaza, Israel wants to isolate Hamas
0:47:48 > 0:47:51and stop rocket attacks on Israeli towns.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56We're just about to arrive at the border.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59We have to get out of the car and walk across. We can't drive.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02And our Israeli producer can't come with us
0:48:02 > 0:48:05because Israelis aren't allowed across this border,
0:48:05 > 0:48:09so it's just us, the film crew, walking through.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12'We're not allowed to film inside the checkpoint.'
0:48:22 > 0:48:24We've just come through the border into Gaza,
0:48:24 > 0:48:26and it's literally like a rat-run.
0:48:26 > 0:48:32A ten minute walk through a caged kind of walkway.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36We have to travel with the local BBC producer
0:48:36 > 0:48:40in a bulletproof car at all times for security.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Already, through driving into Gaza for less than five minutes,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47I can already see such a stark difference
0:48:47 > 0:48:50to everything I've experienced so far since being here.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59There's graffiti on every single wall we pass by.
0:48:59 > 0:49:04We're heading for Jabaliya Refugee Camp. It's a stronghold of Hamas.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08It's hard to believe this is still part of Israel.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13But the person I was supposed to meet has been arrested this morning.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16I still want to explore and try to speak to someone else.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Lots of people out on the streets,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22young people out on the streets, by the looks of it.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25There are not enough schools or teachers here,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28so children can only attend school in shifts.
0:49:28 > 0:49:33As soon as we get out of the car in Jabaliya, we have an audience.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37- Hello!- Hello!- Goodbye. - Goodbye.- Hello.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Mohammed.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Mohammed?
0:49:46 > 0:49:47Hello, Mohammed.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49CHILDREN GIGGLE
0:49:49 > 0:49:52That's one way to get the kids to go!
0:49:52 > 0:49:55HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:49:58 > 0:50:01'We get an invitation from this little boy to visit his home.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03'It's not part of our plan,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06'but we're going to take a chance that it's safe.'
0:50:11 > 0:50:15Such small spaces. Hello, nice to meet you.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21- How are you? - Very well, how are you?
0:50:21 > 0:50:24- My name is Eman.- Reya. I'm Reya.
0:50:24 > 0:50:30- Lovely to meet you.- Where are you from?- England. From England.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33We come. This is my home.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36'This is Eman. She was born in Jabaliya
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'and shares this house with seven other members of her family.'
0:50:42 > 0:50:45'I can't believe eight people live here.'
0:51:02 > 0:51:05- Excuse me, I speak little English. - Your English is good.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07My Arabic is not.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Eman tells me one of her brothers was killed by the Israeli army.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13He's now regarded as a martyr.
0:51:13 > 0:51:18Eman describes how the children are affected by the violence they've grown up with.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25- They play games of being an Israeli and a Palestinian?- Yes.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29Can you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up?
0:51:40 > 0:51:44'Our local producer is worried we've been in one place for too long,
0:51:44 > 0:51:45'so we have to leave.'
0:51:48 > 0:51:51I asked a 12-year-old, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" "A fighter."
0:51:51 > 0:51:54And she was talking about when he sleeps at night,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57he dreams about the Israelis breaking in and trying to kill him.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03And he was 12, and he looked about eight! He was tiny.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06We head to a place called Beit Hanoun.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09It's closer to the Israeli side,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11and I can see signs of fighting with the Israeli army.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17This building on the left here with all the holes in...
0:52:17 > 0:52:20- is that bullet holes?- Yes.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Oh, my God.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30I would not want to live here.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32If I was given the choice of living in Tel Aviv
0:52:32 > 0:52:34where you can get your nails done
0:52:34 > 0:52:38or relax on the beach with a Mojito,
0:52:38 > 0:52:41and go shopping and clubbing and all the rest of it,
0:52:41 > 0:52:46or you can live in the middle of a rubbish tip,
0:52:46 > 0:52:50with bullet holes in your front door, I know which one I'd prefer.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54But then they've not got the choice here to make that decision, so...
0:52:54 > 0:52:56it's this or nothing.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59'Despite the terrible poverty, parts of Gaza
0:52:59 > 0:53:03'are still much livelier and busier than I expected.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07'But everywhere I look there are Hamas flags and graffiti.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11'You can see just how strong the political opinion is here.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14'I'd still like to talk to young people about the politics.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17'A young guy called Karim approaches us. He's a Hamas supporter.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21'I ask him how he feels about Israel.'
0:53:28 > 0:53:30Young Israelis say this is their country,
0:53:30 > 0:53:33they have the right to live here. What do you think?
0:53:55 > 0:53:58We're running out of time in Gaza.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01We have to get back before the checkpoint closes.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04If I had to live in this kind of condition,
0:54:04 > 0:54:06under these rules, I wouldn't be saying,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10"Oh, I want peace and to hold hands and skip around a campfire."
0:54:10 > 0:54:14I'd be a 12-year-old saying that when I grow up
0:54:14 > 0:54:16I want to be a fighter.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20I do understand why for Israel this is like a real threat,
0:54:20 > 0:54:24this place is their enemy on their doorstep,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28and I don't know what the answer is, but this is not it.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32Making over a million people live in an open prison is not the answer.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I'm coming to the end of my time in Israel
0:54:42 > 0:54:45and feel like this experience has really opened my eyes
0:54:45 > 0:54:48to the conflict that runs right through the heart of my family.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54It's such a complicated place
0:54:54 > 0:54:57and it seems everyone has an opinion about what should be done.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Being both Jewish and Muslim really highlighted some of the problems
0:55:04 > 0:55:06and inequalities in the country to me.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10There is absolutely no integration in this country,
0:55:10 > 0:55:14and particularly coming from Britain where I think,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18despite all our problems, when it comes to integration, we're good.
0:55:22 > 0:55:27But this thing of living completely separate lives within one society,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31and everyone is so separated, just isn't going to...
0:55:31 > 0:55:33it's not going to end up well.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Hello...?
0:55:38 > 0:55:40- Hello!- Hey! Puppy!
0:55:42 > 0:55:45- Hey, Dad, how are you doing?- Fine.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48'It's strange to be home and look back at everything
0:55:48 > 0:55:50'I experienced and how it's changed me.'
0:55:50 > 0:55:56- Can I have a Mum cup of tea, please? - Yes, of course you can!
0:55:56 > 0:55:59'A little side of me thought before going out to Israel'
0:55:59 > 0:56:02that I would go there and I would figure out the answer
0:56:02 > 0:56:05to the conflict and I'd be able to save the world and fly the flag,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09and the whole country would be renamed Reya's Land,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12and that's not going to happen. The more time I spent there,
0:56:12 > 0:56:14the more difficult and complex
0:56:14 > 0:56:17and complicated I realised this issue is.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20But that's because it's people.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23And I don't know whether there is a simple answer.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26But I definitely feel like having the experience that I've had
0:56:26 > 0:56:30has opened my eyes to different people's perspectives
0:56:30 > 0:56:33and to walk a day in other people's shoes,
0:56:33 > 0:56:35and that's where, if anywhere,
0:56:35 > 0:56:40that's where the conflict's going to come to begin to be resolved.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Maybe I could save the Middle East yet.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46Reya's Land could be the newest nation to be born!
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Yeah...
0:57:04 > 0:57:06Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:06 > 0:57:08E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk