Climbing Everest in the Holy Land

What is between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean and not Israel or Palestine? It's the land on which the Everest Hotel stands. Run for 60 years by the Christian El-Arja family, the hotel today is one of the few points of connection between Israelis and Palestinians

"My hotel is in its own country," jokes Everest's owner Makram El-Arja (most of his brothers and sister left the country in 2001, some to Egypt others to the United States). "Everyone from both sides knows that it's safe to come here and they all trust me."

"It's the last corner for Israelis to come freely [before they reach areas under total Palestinian control] and Palestinians can also get here without too much trouble," he continues, referring to the myriad checkpoints and security barriers that have sprung up in the area over the last decade."

"We are not with the Israelis or with the Palestinians… we are the government of Everest."

Being in an area forgotten or overlooked by both Israel and Palestine has its advantages and its disadvantages. For example, being in the middle of nowhere (politically speaking) makes it difficult to expand or improve the 60 year old hotel. El-Arja says he has not been allowed to make any changes since 2000, noting that there are eight Israeli court orders halting improvements to the hotel. However he then shows off, with more than a tinge of pride, the eight new guest rooms he opened in December. And being ignored by both sides meant no municipal services for years. Like adequate electricity. (Today the hotel pays taxes to the Palestinian Authority for services) . These and other difficulties, like being surrounded by checkpoints that made it next to impossible for tourists to get from the hotel to sites like Bethlehem and Jerusalem, forced the family to change the hotel’s business model or go out of business.

And so about four years ago El-Arja, began marketing the hotel as a meeting place. "At first it was for businessmen, Jews who wanted to work with Palestinians but did not feel it was safe enough for them to enter the territories.

"However, when they realized that this was a safe area and that their car insurance would cover them while here, they decided to use my services," continues El-Arja. "The Palestinians could come here, too, without any permission. It was the perfect place."

While a myriad of checkpoints still must be negotiated, politicians (including Tony Blair) come to meet to talk peace, non-profits come to meet to create connections between Israelis and Palestinians, and Israeli and Palestinian business people come to meet to talk about making money. And it’s also the place where families separated by the Israel Palestine conflict can get together for such events as weddings.