The story of Akli Ourad, an Algerian engineer based in England, on his journey from London to Jerusalem, which has just been published by Éditions Casbah in Algeria, is moving. Captivating, moving and poignant, it exposes an abominable system.
In this book entitled “ From London to Jerusalem, Promised Terror », the engineer-writer recounts his trip to the territories of occupied Palestine in June 1999.
« I take you with me to the heart of an apartheid system much crueler than that suffered by Madiba’s fellow citizens, which paradoxically also began in 1948, at a time when an artificial state was at the heart of historic Palestine by Western powers… », Explains to TSA Akli Ourad who has just participated in the Algiers International Exhibition (Sila 2024) which was held from November 6 to 16.
Twenty-five years after this trip, the situation in occupied Palestine is still just as dramatic and this subject is still relevant today.
While living and working in London as a public works engineer, Akli Ourad was commissioned by the World Bank for a project which falls within the framework of the Oslo Accords.
A one-week mission, during which he will have the opportunity to visit Tel-Aviv, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Jaffa… In a few days, Akli Ouarad was able to observe the hideous face of a degrading and dehumanizing colonialism that he tells us in this moving story. Contacted by TSA, the writer tells us a little more about this experience.
This mission came as a surprise in Akli Ourad’s professional life. At the time, the civil engineer worked for an English design office, Sir Alexander Gibb & Partner, located in Birmingham. It was June 1999.
« I left as part of the strengthening of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with a view to implementing the two-state solution supported by the international community. My mission was sponsored by the World Bank with the mission to assist the Palestinian Authority in the management and upgrade of the part of the West Bank road network that Israel ceded to the Palestinian Authority “, he tells TSA.
Distrust and suspicion at London airport
Traveling with his English passport, the international expert underwent a tough interrogation at Heathrow airport. Before he can set foot on the plane, bound for Tel Aviv, he passes under the grill of the customs services.
« There are two things that merited in-depth investigation from Heathrow (London). The first indictment was my parentage with my not at all European first and last name as well as my place of birth: Tizi-Ouzou. The second diatribe was my destination, namely the occupied territories. The Zionist regime has always sought to prevent visits to its usurped territories by people from the world it considers hostile, even if they carry passports from their friendly countries. » ? he emphasizes.
For an Algerian, going to occupied Palestine is a challenge. Why so much distrust of our compatriots? For Akli Ourad, the answer is clear.
« We Algerians are full of support for liberation movements, and in particular for the Palestinian question. Many do not know this, but during our war of independence, the Palestinian population participated massively in fundraising to help our revolution despite the fact that they were (still are) under Israeli occupation and had just suffered the Nakba with ethnic cleansing affecting 60% of their population. An Algerian visiting Palestine is never like any other citizen ».
Erasure Policy
This trip was a life-changing experience for Akli Ourad. In his story, he writes that Zionist policies erased Palestinian identity. During our interview, he gives us more details by recalling the story.
« The erasure of Palestinian traces has been at the heart of the Zionist project since its constitution in 1895 by Theodor Herzl, its encouragement by the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and its realization in 1948 with the help of the colonial West. The motto of Zionism which is “A land without people for a people without land”, which alone sums up the motivation behind this policy of erasure of all races recalling the existence of an indigenous people on the land of Palestine, and this for several millennia », develops Akli Ourad.
And to insist: “ Everything that recalls the Palestinian people is erased, including the names of cities, villages, regions, rivers, foods, clothes… ».
Extreme security measures
The first shock came to Akli Ourad head-on, as he approached Tel Aviv. Just as he had dozed off, he was suddenly awakened by a thunderous roar.
Through the porthole, he thinks he is dreaming when he sees two fighter planes displaying small Israeli flags on the cabin. A surreal scene that had a profound impact on her.
« When I saw these two planes that appeared out of nowhere with a deafening noise flying on either side of the passenger plane I was on, I understood to what degree Israel had become paranoid in matters security “, he explains.
« It should be remembered that Israel introduced a number of security measures to secure its El Al airline. They did this after suffering two air hijackings by Palestinian militants, one of which was diverted to Algiers one day in July 1968 », he adds.
When he got off the plane, Akli Ourad was questioned for a long time by the Shin Bet services, the Israeli domestic intelligence service. “ Israel’s system of apartheid has transformed its most important international airport into an advanced tribunal where individuals from the darkest part of the color spectrum are judged on their behavior, humiliated, condemned, banned from entering the country, and put back on the first plane returning them to the sender », he testifies.
Akli Ourad will see death very closely. One night, he is awakened from his sleep in Nablus and has just time to reach the hotel bomb shelter to escape a destructive bombardment.
Palestine: open-air prisons
During this trip, the Algerian engineer discovered the injustices inflicted on the Palestinian population: expropriation, assassination, humiliation, roadblocks, dehumanization…
Tel Aviv, Nablus, Ramallah, West Bank, Jerusalem, Jaffa… he hears and sees everything. His story is chilling.
« When you visit the occupied territories in the West Bank, you are immediately struck by the multitude of Israeli settlements covering all the tops of all the hills of this tiny territory and crowding the rest of the Palestinian population into their towns which have become open-air prisons. as Gaza has been for 18 years “, he said.
« In a single week, I observed all the characteristics of a racist regime based on political, social, economic and military domination exercised by a minority imported from the depths of Eastern Europe under Stalinist dictatorship or the North Africa under Crémieux (Crémieux decree which granted French nationality to the Jews of Algeria in 1870). I was surprised by the perversion of the notion of nationality by Israeli apartheid, which even that of dark South Africa failed to implement “, he continues.
Akli Ourad tells us in detail about all the stages of his journey. He shares with us unexpected anecdotes such as the day he had to prove that he was Muslim by reciting the ‘fatiha’ in order to gain access to the El Aqsa mosque in occupied El Quds.
Having left for professional reasons in Palestine, the engineer felt the need to share his experience by publishing this story.
« My trip to Palestine allowed me to witness the putting into practice of the policy of the great replacement, dear to the forgers of history, which has become a pure Crémieux product. I was stunned by the phenomenon of the fragmentation of spaces, already reduced from what remains of Mandatory Palestine, into concentration camps that only decency allows us to still call Palestinian cities. The Palestinians are the 19th century Jews, victims of immense suffering, brutal persecution and mass genocides perpetrated by successive Zionist governments. », he concludes.
An implacable look at Israeli apartheid delivered with mastery in the story of Akli Ourad to read in “ From London to Jerusalem ».
Born in Ouadhias (Tizi-Ouzou) on January 12, 1962, Akli Ourad obtained his baccalaureate in 1982 and joined the National School of Public Works of Algiers (ENTP) where he pursued engineering studies.
Akli Ourad also performed in theater with great actors like Kateb Yacine, Medjdoubi, Sonia and Benguettaf.
Moving to England in 1993, he joined the University of Birmingham. After a master’s degree, he was recruited as an associate researcher and became an international expert in road economics.
« From London to Jerusalem. Promised Terror “. Akli Ourad. Casbah Editions. 158p. 1000 DA.
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