Bethlehem Under Siege

from: Sami Awad

The silence of the United States government and the governments of the world to the Israeli atrocities taking place against the Palestinian civilians in the West Bank cities continues to be the green light needed for the Israeli government to terrorize, destroy and kill the Palestinian people. When the United Nations' Security Council passes a resolution demanding that a country take immediate action, then every pressure is imposed on that country to abide by this resolution (economic, political and even military). When will Israel be pressured to abide with UN resolutions recently passed-with the support of the US-demanding Israel's immediate withdrawal from the West Bank cities? Imagine if this resolution was passed on a country like Iraq or Syria, what would the US be doing then? Even if Israel was a democracy, as it claims, the world should not accept this as an excuse to allow it to continue its undemocratic, inhumane and immoral actions against the Palestinians. Let, then, every country in the world claim "democracy" and receive international justification to terrorize and kill its enemies in cold blood.

At 12:15 pm, local time today, the Israeli army, as reported on CNN, took the first step in its attack on one of the holiest sites to the Christian world. Israeli grenades blew up the back door of the Church of Nativity and army troops were reported to have begun shooting inside the church. One person, an elderly Palestinian Christian caretaker of the Church has been reported killed by Israeli sniper bullets and there are several reports on injuries inside the church, some extremely serious.

Again and again we say: if this situation were to happen anywhere else in the world, the entire international community would be in an uproar and would be doing every thing possible to put an end to the massacre and genocide.

Yes, there are individuals in the Church that have surrendered their guns to the church leaders and have declared that they seek refuge and shelter. There are also numerous individuals and families-civilians-who are seeking shelter in the church. The reports from the church leaders are that the church has granted this shelter to everyone who has put down their arms. This is the role of the Church and its mission. No one is guilty in the eyes of the church. No one is an enemy in the eyes of the forgiving Church. The church is a house of comfort and peace. The individuals have refused to surrender to the Israeli army because of fear for their lives. This is one situation, just one simple example of how a third party is desperately needed to resolve the standoff. If no intervention takes place then those in the church, including the priests, will either starve or fall sick to the point of death. The situation continuous to deteriorate by the hour.

In other updates from Bethlehem, homes are being systematically stormed and ravished one after the other in the old city of Bethlehem. This is expected to expand into other areas of the Holy city and we expected our home to be a near future target. We have talked to several friends who faced these attacks as the soldiers walked in their homes. The Israeli soldiers have destroyed furniture and house utilities such as televisions, ovens, refrigerators, etc. They have also mixed food supplies such as sugar, salt, rice, wheat, milk, soft drinks, and other foods with each other on the kitchen floors so that they cannot be used. Many buildings and homes have been completely destroyed in order to allow access for big tanks to enter the narrow streets. These are real stories and you will know when this happens to us.

The sad reality is that we keep wondering, with all this that is happening, what will it take for the rest of the world to take definitive and direct action demanding Israel to abide by UN resolutions and stop the genocide. Will it be the death of one hundred Palestinians in one hit, five hundred, a thousand, ten thousand. More? What is the number in your opinion?

Sami Awad

Executive Director

Holy Land Trust