Prickly Pears of Palestine

Written as a travel diary, this work presents a pageant of characters which bring to life the people behind the politics in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Covering the death of Arafat, the rise of Hamas and the growing influence of Christian fundamentalism, it sheds a light on the conflict.

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"At last a book that acknowledges that there are two sides to every story. Hilda manages to present a fair and accurate picture of an oppressed nation that has been so often demonised in Western Media. At the end of the day, her story shows that behind the headlines, the Palestinians are no different from any other nation. Hilda does not patronise nor pass judgement, she simply observes. The power of the story lies in the ordinariness of Palestinian life; they are ordinary people trying to lead an ordinary life under extraordinary conditions. It is a timely piece that goes a long way to explaining how the world has arrived at what is euphemistically called "clash of civilisations". This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the extraordinary juncture of history at which we find ourselves." - Waseem Mahmood OBE.