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Vice Blog

GONE IN SITTOUN SECONDS

Apartheid wall. Anti-terror fence. Separation barrier. Whatever you like to call the gigantic, concrete, graffiti-laden structure that stands between Israel and the West Bank, you could be forgiven for not knowing the original reason it was built—to stop car theft. Well, that's the justification that Israeli politicians used back in 1998 when they made the decision wall off Jerusalem from Ramallah and its surrounding villages and refugee camps. But when we went to Ramallah to film a segment for tonight's episode of Vice Guide to Everything, we found that while the wall has inspired international condemnation and maybe even stopped suicide bombings, it sure hasn't kept people from stealing cars in Israel and driving them straight through armed checkpoints to chop shops in the West Bank.

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How on earth is that possible? Well, it seems that the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoints more concerned with who's coming into Israel than who's leaving, so if you just jacked a car in posh Emek Refaim you can usually count on the IDF cuties to wave you through to Qualandia, one of the oldest refugee camps in the West Bank. There, in a chop shop that fails to live up to the romantic image you're conjuring up in your head right now, a group of young Palestinian men dismantle the car in a fashion that Thomas "Baby Balls" Morton likened unto Jesus's dividing of the fish and loaves, "from this one Israeli car will come myriad parts to fill tons of illegal Palestinian vehicles."

In a place where excessive tariffs on new parts and arbitrary embargos on used ones can make it a challenge to keep a car in running order, it's not surprising that the trade in stolen parts is booming, but it is surprising to find out that at least part of that demand comes from the West Bank's thriving street racing scene. In the shadow of the separation wall, on the margins of Palestinian and Israeli jurisdiction, you'll find spontaneous congregations of young Palestinians, racing anything from Toyotas to supercharged BMWs. Drag racing, drifting, doing "khamzas" (look up the number 5 in Arabic and you'll get it)… anything that you would not want to see done to your car gets done here with delight. It's not legal, it's not safe, but it's damn good fun and to witness it is to realize that these minor acts of rebellion are far more common than the stone-throwing skirmishes that make the evening news. Rebellion against Israel is woven into the fabric of life in the West Bank, at times it results in Molotov cocktails and tanks in the streets, but it usually manifests in more modest ways: sleeping with Jewish girls, supporting Germany in the World Cup, and stealing Israeli cars.

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Double-click for wicked West Bank peelout action.

The trouble is, the Palestinian government gets held responsible for these car thefts. In 2002, Israeli insurance companies sued the Palestinian Authority for $40 million, a small percentage of the claims they had to pay out on stolen cars over the previous decade. With the Israeli government putting the onus on the PA to put a stop to the problem, the PA have taken to setting up roadblocks looking for stolen vehicles. However, the PA police are also not allowed to travel freely in the West Bank. They are confined to the urban centers known as "Area A"… far from where all the action is.

So you've got an anti-car-theft wall manned by Israeli guards that can't be bothered to stop passing cars, and a Palestinian Authority tasked with controlling activity in an area they have no jurisdiction over. If you're Palestinian, it's enough to make you want to throw your hands in the air, smoke a joint, and do some khamzas.

JASON MOJICA

twitter.com/elmodernisto

Watch the Vice Guide to Everything tonight at 11/10 central, and go to VBS.tv for exclusive behind-the-scenes-y type business.