内容摘要：From the bustling port of Jaffa to the stone alleys of Hebron, towns in Palestine bear layers of history.

From the bustling port of Jaffa to the stone alleys of Hebron, towns in Palestine bear layers of history.

So, I did not ask for explanations. That would, I reasoned, be futile. A door had been slammed shut and bolted.Friends I admired and respected. Friends I laughed with, trusted, whose counsel I sought and who sought mine.

I wish them and their loved ones well. I will miss their wise ear and, from time to time, their helping hand.Some of them are Jewish, some are not. I do not begrudge their choice. They have exercised their prerogative to decide who can and cannot be called a friend.I once met their litmus test – the one we all have. Now, I have failed it.

I know that some of my former friends have deep ties to Israel. Some have family who live there. Some may be grieving, too, worried over what comes next.I do not ignore their fear or uncertainty. I do not deny their right to safety.

This is where, I suspect, we confront the unspoken cause of the irreversible divide.

Israel’s security cannot be achieved at the expense of Palestine’s freedom and sovereignty.The gang also offered to help launder money by building properties near the tourist town of Victoria Falls. This, Angel said, would be appreciated by Mnangagwa because it would allow him “to cut a ribbon”, and build his legacy as a leader who brought visible infrastructure investments into Zimbabwe.

“A politician wants to open something,” Angel told Al Jazeera’s undercover reporters. “Gold is easy, but there is nowhere to cut a ribbon.”Tendai Biti, former Zimbabwe minister of finance, told Al Jazeera that although gold trade by law should be overseen by the central bank, the vast majority of gold is smuggled out of the country.

“We have got world class deposits of gold, but we have nothing to show for it,” Biti said. “I think we are losing about a billion US dollars in illegal gold exports — which is a euphemism for gold smuggling.”“The biggest challenge Zimbabwe now faces is the existential threat that comes from this mafia, the gold mafia.”