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news
West Bank trail (via StreetView)Palestinian cyclists attacked in the West Bank after following Komoot route
A group of Palestinian cyclists say they were attacked in the occupied West Bank after route planning app Komoot took them down a path dotted with Israeli settlements.
Just under three million people live in the West Bank – the majority Palestinians with around 418,600 Israeli settlers, according to 2018 estimates.
Palestinians mostly cannot enter Israeli settlements.
Reuters reports that on Saturday cyclist Amer Kurdi set out on a ride from the Palestinian village of Birzeit along with his brother, Samer, and three others.
They used the popular cycling app Komoot to decide on a route.
About an hour into the ride, they followed directions down a rocky path near the Israeli settlement of Shilo.
A group of five or six Hebrew-speaking men approached them and asked where they were from. Kurdi said they were from the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
The men reportedly started throwing stones at the cyclists, using T-shirts to hide their faces.
“The others managed to run away, but I tripped and fell,” said Samer. “When I got up, a settler was behind me, and he started beating me with a metal rod.”
The attack was reported to Israeli police, who say they are investigating.
Asked to comment on complaints Komoot fails to take into account the situation in the West Bank, a spokesperson said its service was not optimised for route planning, “through areas of political unrest”.
Kurdi said the group would continue to cycle.
“I’ll wear a camera. I’ll be more careful when using apps. But we won’t stop. We will stand up for our right to bike.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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Saw Di2 105 for around that price during Black Friday.
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He hasn't had his Weetabix today.
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Vittoria can top the win list with my "dumbest cycling product of the year" award.
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16 comments
Carlton Reid recently published a fascinating podcast interview with Julian Sayarer, who has written a book called 50 Miles Wide about cycling in that area.
https://www.the-spokesmen.com/cyclingpalestine/
Thanks for the link - ordered the book.
If we wound back time to the 1990’s, would you accept a one sided article about the conflict in Ireland?
Would you accept “one perpetrator had a Catholic accent”?
Did you ever read the interview with the owner of Israel Start-Up Nation, Sylvan Adams in Cyclist magazine March20, citing he would love to recruit a Palestinian rider?
The print on their team jersey reads “PEACE AMBASSADOR”.
Alex, why don’t you make contact with Israel Start-Up Nation’s media people and get yourself invited for a ride out there, so you get the real facts.
Cycling should have no place for politics
Road.cc has just
copied and pastedrehashedreported the details as relayed by Reuters - if you feel the version of events is inaccurate or incomplete, you're probably best taking it up with them.The fact that some Jewish Israelis (admirably) speak out against the actions of the current government and/or wish better for their Palestinian neighbours doesn't in any way preclude criticism of that government or the actions of some Israelis though, does it?
You must be new here
Cycling has a completely central place in politics. In fact, only this week, the Big Ride for Palestine - https://www.thebigride4palestine.com - has launched a 440 mile bike ride to raise awareness of what is going on in Palestine/Israel. Please visit our website to find out more, and join our bike rides this year. Please also take a look at the fantastic work our favoured charity, Middle East Children's Association (MECA), is doing in Palestine. You will see how MECA encourages girls to take part in sport, particularly cycling, when many of them have been traumatised by the situation over there. I hope you will take time to find out more about Palestine and donate to this great cause.
The article doesn't quite tell the full story. Here's a bit they missed:
"A group of five or six Hebrew-speaking men approached them and asked where they were from. Kurdi said they were from the Palestinian city of Ramallah."
Another rider got off his bike and started dancing while shouting "Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah".
"The men reportedly started throwing stones at the cyclists, using T-shirts to hide their faces." They were defintitely NOT women.
Hang on - are you saying that this all started because they REALLY enjoyed a particular fish (starts with an 'h') supper?
Not really a failing of KOMOOT here - anyone who lives in Birzeit will be familiar with what a settlement looks like and where they are.
I used Strava and a few other references to navigate the amazing Sugar Trail through Palestine, but I asked several local contacts about the security. Some colleagues warned against going alone, or without carrying a gun. Others said - it's fine. The start of the route was just outside a settlement, and I passed a few Palestinian huts on the way through. People were generally friendly to me, and a big guy at the end was waiting with a truck to shuttle me the 25km back up.
In the West Bank it probably helped that I'm clearly neither a settler, nor a Palestinian if approaching a settlement. Not sure I would repeat the journey right now - it's a bit more tense than when I was out in February. And too hot.
There is some fabulous road and gravel riding in the region, and a few bike hire places with decent road and MTB hire.
Video of the journey here - the tarmac road at the start leads to an enclosed settlement. I went down the side past big warning signs telling me I was going down a track towards Palestinian villages.
https://youtu.be/yesZe4YwEII
Alex Bowden - You mention "Jewish" settlements in your opening paragraph and the piece then goes on to insinuate that it was people from these settlements who carried out the attack. Be careful mate, Jeremy Corbyn would have been hung drawn and quartered for that sort of remark !
Thank goodness he's not Jeremy Corbyn then.
nothing like a good old smear...JC would have said Israeli
...but who will probably do even less than if it had been reported to (fill in your local police force)
well done on you getting a ritual dig at the police in there. Do you moan about the police every time you brush your teeth , have a cup of tea , take a dump etc.
Damn! Busted!
Actually, no, I was using our usual gripes about British police to wonder about how well the Israeli police force would investigate an alleged attack on Palestinians by (alleged) Israeli settlers.