Hasim 18 is a resident of Aida camp. Aida is a Palestinian refugee camp situated 2 kilometers North of Bethlehem. The camp had a population of approximately 3,260 refugees. In the distance the settlement of Gilo sits on top of the hill. Gilo is an Israeli settlement with a population of 40,000, mostly Jewish. It is one of the five ring neighborhoods of Jerusalem and is built on land in the West Bank that was annexed to Israel in 1980 under the Jerusalem Law. The international community regards it as an Israeli settlement that is illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. A tall concrete wall prevents Hasim from getting to Gilo. the Israelis argue that the number of suicide bombers have dropped dramatically sine the creation of the wall. Hasim speaks little English but manages to communicate that his only desire is to keep his job as a waiter in the Intercontinental Hotel outside the camps wall. Aida Camp, Palestine, 2012.

Portrait of a young Palestinian man. Hebron, Palestine, 2012.

In 40 BCE, after the Parthian conquest of Syria, Herod fled to Masada. On the way, at the location of Herodion, Herod clashed with the Parthians and emerged victorious. According to the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, he "built a town on that spot in commemoration of his victory, and enhanced it with wonderful palaces... and he called it Herodion after himself" Mount Herodium, Palestine, 2012.