For Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1, Justin Kilcullen remembers a visit to Gaza in June 2010 - listen to A Land of Milk and Honey above...
In June 2010 I visited the Gaza Strip on behalf of Trócaire, just one year after the first Israeli assault on the territory entitled "Operation Cast Lead". I was there to assess the impact of the bombing and the economic blockade imposed by the Israeli government on the enclave of two million people crammed into a space less than half the area of County Louth.
Entering Gaza was a surreal experience. I moved from a bright airy terminal style building into a labyrinth of narrow grey corridors, through a turnstile to face dark a narrow metal door before stepping out into no man's land. I heard the clunk of the door closing behind me and realised that it has no handle on this side. There was no way back. A walk of about a kilometre down a wire covered pathway brought me to the modest hut of the local immigration service. I had entered a different world in just fifteen minutes.
Sunday Miscellany, RTÉ Radio 1, Sunday mornings at 9.10 am - listen back here.
