On July 12th, about five days after Israel began to bombard Gaza with the airstrikes of Operation Protective Edge, Julia Carmel arrived at the Israeli-operated Allenby border terminal to cross into the occupied West Bank. Followed by ten hours of detention, interrogation, and some humiliation, she was denied entry by the IDF. Her long-anticipated plans to return to Beit Sahur – to learn, do research, and assist a friend’s community development project for the next two months – were dissolved by two magavniks, who sent her back to Jordan without a legitimate reason and at her own expense.
