The Idiot constantly got advice during his 400-kilometer MedTrek from Syria to Gaza along the Mediterranean coast in Lebanon and Israel.
Most people — of various cultural, national, political, racial and religious persuasions — questioned his general sanity and were adamant that he should abandon his quest if he wanted to live another day. The suggestions that he quit MedTrekking intensified due to increasing unrest and violence throughout Israel during October.
Yet The Idiot not only continued through Tel Aviv to Israel’s border with Gaza but also invited his 21-year-old niece, who is on an archeological dig in Egypt, and a former 76-year-old foreign correspondent with The Times of London to accompany him.
Leaving cosmopolitan Tel Aviv and heading south through Jaffa, Ashdod and Ashkelon to the Gaza Strip.
Arriving at The Museum of Jaffa’s Liberation south of Tel Aviv.
A door in Old Jaffa.
Advice from a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces: “You might be able to get into Gaza but you probably won’t be able to get out.”
There are few stretches of the Israel coast that are closed to MedTrekkers but one is south of Tel Aviv between Bat-Yam and Palmahim. The message conveyed by a very serious fence and a sign indicating “Firing Area – Entrance Forbidden” was supported by the sound of gunfire.
A serious fence stretching into the Mediterranean signalled a military firing range that closed the coast to MedTrekkers for seven kilometers.
The sound of gunfire and this solid fence convinced The Idiot not to enter the firing range south of Bat-Yam, Israel.
After walking inland around the military zone, the MedTrekkers arrived at the pristine Palmahim Beach and continued to Ashdod.
Ah, the pristine beach and anicent port of Yanve in Palmahim between Bat-Yam and Ashdod, Israel.
The coast was clear for MedTrekkers until they arrived at a power station, defended by machine gun-toting security guards, just north of the border with Gaza.
MedTrekkers Sara Stratte, 21, and Michael Knipe, 76, strolling on the beach south of Ashdod, Israel.
Sara Stratte, who left an archeological dig in Egypt to MedTrek with The Idiot, investigates the remains of a Bronze Age port south of Ashdod, Israel.
The Idiot encounters men in flying machines as he nears Ashkelon, Israel. (Photo: Sara Stratte)
A view of the Mediterranean from a ruin in the Ashkelon National Park.
Sara Stratte sniffs a piece of pottery to help determne its origin, age and use.
The seaside arrival at the border with Gaza begins with a warning sign and ends with an intimidating wall. The Idiot and his fellow MedTrekkers, who heard one gunfight between Israeli Defense Forces and Gazans that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians, ended the current MedTrek on the beach.
The Idiot ignores the first warning sign as he approaches Gaza.
The Idiot describes how he plans to approach the Israel border with Gaza and deal with soldiers, a drone and an intimidating wall. (Photo: Sara Stratte)
Nobody is talking about tearing down the wall and other barriers that separate Israel from Gaza.
The MedTrekkers were, like almost everyone else, not permitted to enter Gaza by the Israelis at the official Erez Crossing a few kilometers from the sea. However, The Idiot will consider entering Gaza from the Rafah border crossing in Egypt when he returns to the region next year.
Inshallah.
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