Introducing Palestine - Pictures of Palestine

I love coming to Palestine because it's a very different country, owing to its unique circumstances. An occupied land, its fate controlled by the Israelis, it has paradoxically avoided certain ills that many developing countries have fallen upon.

This is hinted at by this quote from a 1990s BBC war correspondent, Martin Bell, who covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Bosnia war: "Peace and freedom can be defined as the peace that makes traffic jams possible and the freedom to sit in them".

Military occupation has given Palestinians a few gifts. One is a friendly and very human society - hospitality, sharing and generosity are notable here, and foreign visitors are frequently deeply stirred by this. Another is attitude: Palestinians have faced stuff others avoid, and they've come out the wiser for it.

This is indeed a Holy Land: there's something in the energy of the land, in its 'place memory' and its inspiring and tragic history which makes it special, whether or not you're a believer in any of the three faiths rooted here (I'm not). There's something very alive about this land.

There's something else too. You notice it when you cross the separation wall from Israel into the West Bank. If you compare Palestine with its neighbour, Jordan is more of an economy while Palestine is more of a society. In our day, when globalisation and corporatisation have extended their tentacles across the globe, this is rare. Also, while Israel has won the conflict militarily, arguably the Palestinians have won it socially and spiritually.

There's something about the unknowns that Palestinians face. Things are not as hard as they were during the intifada of 2000-2004, yet Palestinians still have no clear idea about their future prospects, since these are in the hands of their Israeli occupiers and the international community. This insecurity creates a spiritual and human edge which makes the Palestinians one of the more awakened societies on Earth.

Not that life is easy. Some suffer poverty, disadvantage and hopelessness but all, whatever their status, have their rights denied as humans and as a society, as a result of the occupation. This makes life in Palestine challenging. Other countries can be challenging too, but this is a different kind of challenge - a national imprisonment.

The West Bank landscape is impressive - elevated highlands of limestone 700-800m (2,000-3,000ft) up, with deep valleys, villages, mosques and churches perched on hilltops or spilling down the sides of hills, with ancient agricultural terracing, olive trees, wide vistas and sweeps of scenery. Palestine's towns, some of which go back millennia, have old historic centres with characterful alleyways, souks, nooks and crannies.

The harmony between Palestinian Muslims and Christians is noteworthy. About 30% of the nation is secular too. There's hardly any crime - except the crime of a military occupation and the apartheid it brings.

This is not a place for camera-snapping consumer tourism. The locals invite you to open up, visit their families, hear their stories and join in their reality. These people are heartened by the visits of empathetic strangers.

That's why, to anyone with a human heart and a yen for something different, Palestine is special. It's worth a visit. If you don't want to visit, it's still worth keeping this brave people, the Palestinians, in your prayers.