Staff Writer Abigail Leichman will fulfill her dream of moving to the occupied West Bank, while the native inhabitants can only look on longingly at their usurped lands. Their view also comes through the scope of a brutal military occupation characterized by ubiquitous checkpoints, massive barriers and restrictions on all aspects of life.

How is it fair that a person born thousands of miles away gains instant citizenship, while those who were born on the land and can directly trace their ancestry for centuries have virtually no rights?

Leichman will join thousands of others living in race-exclusive compounds connected by roads that deliberately restrict and divide the movements of the native population. While she can fulfill her dreams from thousands of miles away, Palestinians can only have small dreams, such as figuring how their children can navigate past the occupation soldiers to get to schools, or how fathers can find ways to provide the basic necessities for their families.

I hope that upon arrival she will take her aunt's advice, "Come live here and make it better." Maybe she will speak out against continued land confiscations and house demolitions. Given her experiences in our wonderful country, she may even condemn ministers in the Israeli government who advocate "transferring" all non-Jews, or the mayor of Jerusalem when he states, "God forbid that Arabs ever assume a majority of the population" in his city.

It is hoped one day soon that the Palestinian people's long nightmare of Israel's military occupation will end, and all people who love the land can dream of living together in peace.

Salaheddin Mustafa

Clifton, July 24