PEACEHOST
TOWNCRIER
Friends in peace with justice:
It has been eight months since I have entered a posting here at Town Crier. After a while I despaired that anyone was reading these, and other more pressing Web matters demanded my attention. In the event that anyone at all is reading this, I offer the following posting. Word is out everywhere in the peace and justice community, so in the unlikely event that you have happened upon this and are not fully aware of what is going on in the Middle East right now, or needed to be goaded into action, here's an E-mail I received today:
[Folks, If you've already read the posting below, here's a new one from Phyllis: More news plus two more photos.
- Subject: Occupation of Bethlehem
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 2002 10:10:02 -0800
From: Esther Ho
Phyllis Tenney, who sent me this message, is a Church of the Brethren member who spent several weeks in the Gaza Strip with Christian Peacemaker Teams before they opened the Hebron project. (Some of you will remember her as Phyllis Butt.) My computer is acting up right now, so I haven't been able to look at the photos myself, but I've decided to send them on to you in case you can make use of them. Esther----- Original Message -----
From: Phyllis Tenney
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 5:56 PM
Subject: Occupation of BethlehemDear Friends,
Below is a message from my friend Marla, who lives in Bethlehem. Below that are statements she has received and is forwarding. An email will follow with pictures she took from her balcony of Israeli tanks occupying Bethlehem.
Please read these messages and respond as you feel moved to do.Thank you,
Phyllis[Here are thumbnails of the photos. Just click on them to view them full size:
A picture is worth....]
*****
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As of this Wednesday morning, all major towns of the West Bank have been re-occupied. Nablus and Salfit were taken over by Israel this morning, adding to the atrocities taking place already in Ramallah, Tulkarem, Qalqilyia and Bethlehem.
There is little reporting as international journalists have been asked to leave or are confined to certain areas. The world knows best of the horrors taking place in Ramallah, however it seems that they are being repeated all over. In Bethlehem, we are under strict curfew and basicly house arrest as there are Israeli snipers out on the rooftops. Yesterday there was non stop shelling into the night. It is reported that the many wounded are not allowed to be taken away for treatment and have taken refuge in the Church of the Nativity. We were without electricity for the past 24 hours and telephone line for part of that time. The weather is cold and rainy. Many worry about running out of heating and cooking fuel, as well as fresh produce and dairy. There is no access to medical care at all.
I am sending the attached two photos out asap, before the electricity and telephone lines are cut again. They were taken from our balcony early this morning. One of tanks gathering at the foot of the hill that leads up to Manger Square from Beit Sahour. The other of tanks stationed at the petrol station a few meters down the road from us. It is not clear how long this imprisionment of and war against three and a half Palestinians will continue.
Please raise your voice and help overcome the silence of the world governments. Every phone call, letter, rally and demonstration counts.
----Original Message Follows----
From: Marla Schrader
Subject: Statements
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 18:14:29 +0300Dear friends & colleagues,
Below please find four first hand accounts and appeals on the current situation:
1) The Israeli army has now invaded and occupied Bethlehem University
2) Update on international peace activists in Ramallah and Bethlehem
3) Urgent News Release From Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan
4) United Nations Staff Demand that Humanitarian Aid Be Allowed to Reach Palestinians Under Siege
Keep up the pressure,
Marla
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1) Israeli army occupies Bethlehem UniversityAt 2:45am on the morning of April 2 about 40 Israeli soldiers entered the property of Bethlehem University and occupied its buildings. After determining that there were no groups or individuals hiding on the campus, the soldiers informed the Brothers in charge of the administration that they were not leaving the campus and that they "might be remaining on campus for a while." This is the first time in 26 years of operation that this has occurred. The University is Church-owned property, and the Brothers conduct the University on behalf of the Vatican. Although classes have been postponed indefinitely, a community of Brothers lives on campus. They include 8 Americans, 1 Palestinian, and 3 British citizens. This development has the very real potential of inviting serious conflict and fighting on University property which could turn into a flashpoint in the current conflict. Lives are endangered. The potential for unnecessary and costly destruction of Church property is real. Already a Salesian priest has been shot and killed. The Brothers have not been harmed, but the buildings have sustained some damage in the soldiers' search for "terrorists" in the community. The power is out, so the Brothers cannot send email. Brother Vincent called to say, "We are safe for now."
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2) Update on international peace activists in Ramallah and Bethlehem
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 11:26 PM
Quick update:
The presidential compound in Ramallah is currently being fired upon. We still have 34 foreign peace activists inside. There is a dire shortage of food and no water. They urgently need medical supplies. Please see the appeal below. Also posted on website.
Palestinian doctors were forced to dig a mass grave in the parking lot of the Ramallah hospital today to bury 25 of the dead bodies that have been retrieved over the past 4 days. Though it is difficult to get an accurate count of the dead due to the Israeli military preventing medical workers from operating, doctors were forced to make room in the hospital morgue. We have been unable to bury the dead properly due to the Israeli siege and their open shoot policy. Pictures available on website.
A 55-year old woman by the name of Widad Majed Nimr Safwan was shot dead by Israeli snipers as she left the Ramallah hospital this morning where she came for treatment of her broken leg. Widad left the Shiekh Khaled bin Zayed hospital at approximately 11am this morning, to have her dead body carried back by an Italian peace worker at 11:15am. Snipers shot Widad in the cheek and back of the neck.
PLEASE keep up the pressure on your respective governments. We really need help here.
Huwaida
=================================================
SEND HELP NOW
As members of the international civilian peace force on the ground in the besieged Palestinian towns of Ramallah and Bethlehem, we are sending out an urgent call for help.
First of all we'd like to confirm that there are 34 foreign civilians still inside the Presidential compound, under siege by Israeli forces. They are 27 French, 2 Germans, 1 British, 1 Belgian, 1 Brazilian, 1 Israeli/Canadian and 1 Irish. They have been in there since Sunday, March 31, 2002. They are reporting to us a severe shortage of food, no water and a desperate need for medical supplies. We have repeatedly attempted to deliver food, water and medicine via a Red Crescent ambulance but the Israeli military is not allowing the aid through. The foreign peace activists inside the compound are calling for immediate international intervention. They have issued an urgent call to their respective ambassadors. In addition to the ambassadors, we are calling upon UN Secretary General Kofi Anan, EU Foreign Minister Javier Solana, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, General Anthony Zinni, and EU Special Envoy Miguel Moratinos to come immediately to Ramallah and intervene to stop the Israeli assault on all Palestinian cities and people.
Up until now unarmed foreign civilians have been doing the work that our governments and the international community should be doing and MUST START DOING NOW. We have now also become purposeful targets of the Israeli military. Yesterday Israeli soldiers opened fire on a large group foreign peace activists in Beit Jala, wounding six (2 Americans, 3 British and 1 Australian). Now international peace activists are in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, the Dhaishe refugee camp, Aida refugee camp, and Azza refugee camp, serving as human shields to protect the Palestinian people. The Israeli government has declared martial law in Ramallah and Bethlehem and has ordered all of us out. We refuse to leave. Some of us have already been arrested and deported for our solidarity work with the Palestinian people.
We need help NOW. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross are being prevented from working inside the besieged Palestinian towns. The Palestinian Red Crescent society and aid workers are being detained by Israeli forces and their ambulances are denied passage to deliver humanitarian aid and to pick up wounded and the dead. Ambulances are also being shot at and medics and doctors forced to sit on their knees at gunpoint in the streets.
We appeal to the world not to remain silent and to come to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to help protect the Palestinian people. WE are witnessing war crimes and must work to stop this! We will continue our attempts to help the Palestinian people, despite the danger on our lives. The United Nations and our respective governments must intervene now, decisively and unconditionally.
WE NEED HELP! SEND HELP NOW! PLEASE.
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3) Urgent News Release From Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ). The ELCJ has its headquarters in Jerusalem and is working in Jerusalem, Palestine, Jordan and Israel.
April 2, 2002 12 noon
The Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, the pastor's home and the church's International Center in Bethlehem have been hit by shelling from Israeli tanks and soldiers today, April 2, 2002, at about 9:00 am, Palestinian time. Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor of the church, reports that the Israeli tanks entered the Old City of Bethlehem at 3:30 am today. Tanks were also positioned in a circle around the Old City. The shelling began at 6:30 am. The heaviest gunfire and fighting is taking place now in the Old City, from Manger Square to the Christmas Church compound.
Rev. Raheb reports that tanks have destroyed the first floor entrance to his home and also have destroyed the garage doors. The family is living on the second level of the building and fears that they will be invaded. The tanks and soldiers are stationed immediately outside the church and parsonage. At 10:10 the electricity was lost in the church and parsonage.
Also, Rev. Raheb reports that they have heard much glass breaking, both in the church and in the offices. Although they cannot go to see the damage yet, it seems that at least some of the 110 year old stained glass windows have been destroyed.
The parsonage has tanks on both side of it, so the tank fire is deafening and shakes all the buildings. Rev. Raheb has been making telephone calls to members of the congregation, one-fourth of whom live in the Old City. To date no one has been injured, but all are terrified of the fighting and invasion.
According to the Fourth Geneva Conventions, places of worship and churches should never be assaulted.
To contact Rev. Gustaf Odquist call +972-50-388976 or +972-67-255733.
Noted by Rev. Dr. Mary E. Jensen, Communications Assistant to Bishop Younan
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2 April 2002
United Nations Staff Demand that Humanitarian Aid Be Allowed to Reach Palestinians Under Siege and Protest the Recent Israeli Actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Staff of the United Nations Agencies UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO WFP, ILO, UNESCO, and OHCHR, in protest against the military incursions of the Israeli Government into Palestinian areas in violation of UN resolutions, international humanitarian law and treaties, are holding a sit-in strike at the UNDP offices in Jerusalem. All UN staff members participating in the strike, as well as those who are unable to participate, express their solidarity with colleagues, relatives, friends and all Palestinians whose lives are in danger, and who have been cut off from all humanitarian and medical aid, including access to food, water and electricity. The staff call upon the international community to demand the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian areas, to demand the implementation of all UN resolutions by the State of Israel and to demand access of the United Nations for the purpose of providing essential humanitarian aid to those in need.
Friends,
More news from Marla and Bethlehem, with pictures.
----Original Message Follows----
From: Marla Schrader
Subject: Another urgent udpate
Date: Sun, 07 Apr 2002 05:43:17 +0300
[Click on thumbnails above to view full-size.]
Dear friends and colleagues,
My family and I are still here, held captive in our homes as is the entire Palestinian nation of three and a half million people. In the Bethlehem area, we have been under strict house curfew since last Sunday night. The curfew was lifted once (but not in all areas of the city) on Friday for about three hours. However, four people were shot and wounded during that time. The people under hardest assault in Bethlehem's old city and the Manger Square area were not allowed to move. There was no produce or dairy to be found and bread was scarce, only dry goods available. And, at least in our area near Manger Square, there were no pharmacies open. So that even those of us who could get out, could not secure medicines. The TV crews were out to document us scrambling for the little we could find.
The international UN staff has begun distributing food in Ramallah. This is no easy task. They must wear helmets and bullet proof vests in order to do so. But, the people of Ramallah are suffering tremendously; they have been under assault for over a week. Many neighborhoods have no water and/or electricity and definitely no access to medical care no matter how critical one's case.
Although there is some international media left in Bethlehem and Ramallah, it is the cities and refugee camps of Jenin and Nablus that are currently under the most brutal of attacks. Friday's death toll was 34 persons. Today's is still being counted (as medical staff and human rights workers are struggling to document what they can), but may be as high as 100. Israel has resorted to bombing and shooting from the air into the densely populated areas in the northern West Bank. In addition to the lives being destroyed there are reports that several historical and archaeological sites are now in ruins. So that now Palestinian cultural rights are being gravely violated, along with their religious, political, human and environmental rights.
I am sickened at the world's complacency and at the empty words of the world's leaders. I am saddened at the Christian world's lack of bold and earnest action to intervene in all of this and more particularly the battle going on around the Church of the Nativity. Although the snipers across the valley were out again today, I managed to sneak a few photos from our balcony which I have attached. One of Israeli army tanks and bulldozers surrounding the northern entrances to the Church of the Nativity. There is great fear that this stand off many result in many, many killed and wounded. Another of smoke rising from Bethlehem's old city, as it was shelled extensively this afternoon. And finally, an ambulance accompanied by very courageous internationals on its way to retrieve the wounded from the Nativity Church today. I could hear my neighbors shouting 'thank you', 'thank you', to these amazing people who risk being shot and killed trying to do so. They held signs, stating that it is a war crime to not allow ambulances to the injured and dead. Nevertheless, they were turned back by Israeli soldiers before reaching the Square. (For more photos of the Bethlehem area go to the website of the International Center of Bethlehem.)
The state of Israel thinks it is invincible, but it is morally dead. The spirit of a captive and oppressed people can not be broken like this. The Palestinian people may today be hungry and humiliated, but they are also hungry for life and freedom. And someday justice will prevail, for the atrocities of today are not God's intent. The faster all of us from around the world telephone the White House, write letters, demonstrate in the streets, speak from your pulpits, and talk to the media the fewer lives will be lost and damaged. Consider this an urgent plea; please consider doing something or more of what you are already doing. It has always been grassroots people's movements who have changed the world for the better. Our efforts are not in vain.
Marla
