The view is as ironic as the reality. Standing on the edge of a house under construction in Bethlehem, I can see the Church of Nativity, Israel’s separation Wall surrounding Bethlehem, the city’s traffic, and the ever-expanding Israeli settlement Har Homa – while covering Palestinian-Israeli direct talks underway in Egypt.
Palestinians know the settlement as Jabal Abu Ghneim; Israel says it’s part of greater Occupied East Jerusalem. Palaestinians also know this illegal settlement of 30,000 residents was built in the height of the Oslo peace process on their private property.
I must have done dozens, even hundreds, of interviews about Israel and the Palestinian territories: the separation wall, the check points, the difficulties faced when moving around (or trying to) and the frustration they bring. But still, I only fully understood the situation when I had to travel from Israel to the West Bank for the pope's visit to Bethlehem.
A very sleepy press entourage gathered at the hotel lobby at 0445. Early starts are not unusual on these trips, but Bethlehem is only around 10 km from Jerusalem and we did not need to be at the welcoming ceremony until 0900. But when we got to the border we realised why we set off so early.
![[QODLink]](http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2012/2/11/2012211114212966734_16.jpg "Yusuf Raza Gilani")
I must have done dozens, even hundreds, of interviews about Israel and the Palestinian territories: the separation wall, the check points, the difficulties faced when moving around (or trying to) and the frustration they bring. But still, I only fully understood the situation when I had to travel from Israel to the West Bank for the pope's visit to Bethlehem.