Much more than the biggest knafeh in the world.

Today is a very special day in Nablus. 'the most amazing day in Nablus in seven years' to say it with the words that many have used to describe the proportion of the event to me.

Officially, today Nablus is celebrating a record for the Guinness Book with the realization of the biggest Knafeh, a very popular local sweet cheese. An association of local bakers produce a batch of 74x1 m Knafeh. (!!!) The celebration, however, had a deeper undertone. At least three people have explained to me, with similar vocab and attitude, that in Nablus, celebrating in the street has not been possible for a long time, basically since the outbreak of the second Intifada which got heated in Nablus in 2000. My most reliable source when trying understand how people see their situation is repetition. A couple of sentences have been told to me almost exactly in the same form by numerous people. Hearing more than a couple of times the same powerful statement hinted to me that a certain view is shared by many. In my top list of common sentences there is 'We can expect the Israeli army to invade at any time', and 'life is not easy here, but we try to live a normal life, we have to live normal lives'.

The contrast between occupation and normal life creates a strange atmosphere. Palestinians in Nablus are extremelly proud of their culture and their city but there is a sense that many things are just not possible. The occupation is felt in crucial aspects of every day life. For example, a friend was explaining to me how his dad works with wood and just purchased a new machine from China. They are terrified that the machine will not be allow passed the check points, resulting in the loss of a very large investment. He added 'if they don't let it in for some reasons, there is nothing much we can do about it'. Before the Intifada, Nablus used to be the economic center of the West Bank and the beauty and potential of the city gives hope that Nablus might strengthen its position in the future.

Today represented pride and hope for Nablus. The city was in spot light in the the international media and to palestinians in Israel, the rest of the West Bank and in Gaza. Most importantly, the celebration was simply for the the citizen of Nablus themselves.
Together with the other volunteers of PH, I saw the eating of the biggest knafeh from a VIP position: the fourth floor of a mall right above the Knafeh's exposition. The city was packed with people, and highly controlled by soldiers that could be seen right and left with huge guns. The big guns, which I always find extremely intimidating, did not disrupt the enthusiasm. After the prime minister Salam Fayyad himself opened the event, hundred of people were eating Knafeh while thousands filled the streets.

What I had initially imagined a simple street festival, in a city where up to two years ago curfew was mandatory and where people still remember very clearly what it is like to leave inside a house for weeks and weeks, became 'the most amazing day in Nablus'. And it was indeed amazing, I must say.