|
Jerusalem Wednesday, November 1, 2000, 4:00 p.m. Dear Friends, I am leaving to get home quickly as I've just received word that there is a heavy attack going on currently in Beit Jala, with tanks and helicopter gunships, shooting both from near my home and from the south. Friends have called their family members who had come to Jerusalem today and told them to not come home. They'll join me in my home at Beit Safafa. Those in Beit Jala are huddled in the back room of the houses. Please continue to pray for the peoples of this land. Sandra
Wednesday November 1, 2000, 5:15 p.m. Urgent news from Bethlehem: For almost two hours now, Israeli tanks and helicopters have been heavily shelling Palestinian homes in the village of al-Khader (walking distance from Dheisheh refugee camp), the town of Beit Jala and Aida refugee camp. Two Palestinians have been killed. One Palestinian home in al-Khader has burned from the shelling and ambulances aren't able to get near to rescue those injured. It is not clear why all hell seems to have broken loose in the Bethlehem area all of a sudden, but the local news and other news channels reported about an hour ago that 2 Israeli soldiers were killed in the Bethlehem area this afternoon and 4 others were wounded. The attack going on now could be a retaliation. No one knows yet. Israeli tanks and helicopters are also shelling a monastery in Beit Jala and the amount of rockets being fired is just incredible. Through the mosque's loudspeaker, Dheisheh's residents were asked not to approach windows or stand on rooftops after some high velocity Israeli bullets hit some Dheisheh homes near the main entrance. Local TV stations are warning people to seek shelter. I hear the Apache helicopters flying overhead as I write this and the sound of the shelling sounds as if we are in the midst of a battlefield. A local TV crew filming in al-Khader could record—as we just heard on TV—the voices of screaming women. We are bracing ourselves for a very, very long night. Muna Hamzeh-Muhaisen See also:
Statement on
The Current Crisis in The Palestinian Territories And Israel
Letter from the
Rev. Sandra Olewine, United Methodist Liaison - Jerusalem, 10/17/2000
Letter from the
Rev. Sandra Olewine, United Methodist Liaison - Jerusalem, 10/12/2000
Letter from the
Rev. Sandra Olewine, United Methodist Liaison - Jerusalem, 9/28/2000
|
| Top | Global Connections: Middle East | Search | GBGM News | GBGM |