See also

An
  encounter
  in Beit
  Jala

Dear Friends,

The good news this morning is that the Israeli Occupation Forces have withdrawn to their positions of Monday, 27 August, and the Palestinian Security have vowed to do all they can to keep people from shooting at the settlement of Gilo.

News broke around 5 pm last night that some deal had been brokered. A bit later there was some heavy Palestinian firing. This was due to the funeral of a Palestinian security officer who had been killed earlier in the day. The shooting was in the air and not at Gilo. There was no response from the Israeli military. About an hour later, though, there was some sporadic shooting, which the Israelis responded to with machine guns and a few tank shells.

Firing all of a sudden grew very heavy around 7:30 pm. A little more than an hour later, a huge explosion rocked our area (the western border of Bethlehem/eastern border of Beit Jala). Evidently, the Israelis fired a ground-to-ground missile from Gilo. It landed only 15 meters to the south of the new Latin (Catholic) Patriarchate school, a kindergarten and school to be inaugurated and opened on September 3rd. But, it hit the home of Dr. Manual Hassassian, the Vice-President of Bethlehem University. The entrance to the house was demolished but, thankfully and miraculously, the family was unharmed.

About 30 minutes later another explosion rocked the area. A rocket evidently skimmed over the top of the building across from my house and landed in the market area one block up. The front of my house lit up when the rocket exploded (evidenlty it was also a ground-to-ground missle). At first, I wasn't sure that it hadn't hit our house. I heard my landlords come running down the stairs, so I went out to meet them. They had been looking out the window at the time and saw the rocket hit.

Immediately, Palestinian security arrived in the area, along with an ambulance and fire truck. Neighbors began pouring out into the street. Once, everyone discovered no one was hurt where we were, all the men ran up the street to where the rocket had landed to see if anyone needed help. Unbelievably, no one was seriously injured. I have to tell you this was a frightening experience. The phone immediately began to ring as friends from other parts of Bethlehem called to see if we were okay and whether we should move to a different area. At that point, the shooting was so heavy, though, it was much safer for everyone to just stay where they were. Many spent the next few hours on the floor away from windows. I sat in my dining room, up against the interior walls just in case another rocket was launced. As the tanks fired and Palestinian security forces fired machine guns, it was a long couple of hours.

But, suddenly around 1 am, it grew very quiet. Many were awakened early by gunfire again, but there was no Israeli response. I figured this must be the indication that the IDF had withdrawn and these were shots of 'celebration.' An hour or so later, this was confirmed.

This morning as I walked to the church office, people filled the market area,cleaning up all the glass. Most of the buildings near where the rocket finally landed lost all of the windows. The crunch of glass as we walked through the street and the sound of glass being shovelled into bins is a distinctly unpleasant sound. This morning similar clearing and cleaning is going on in Beit Jala and around Aida Refugee Camp. For the first time in two days, people are able to leave their homes and assess the damage. Yet, as many of us called friends in Beit Jala, we found people on the move early. For those who still have work, they were up and out, attempting to return to as normal of a routine as quickly as possible, trying to put some order back in their lives back.

There is certainly a sense of relief in the air. This part of the seige is over -- for now. But, our work is not over. The larger seige on the Bethlehem area still exists, as it does for every Palestinian town and village. The tanks have only moved a few hundred meters. If the Israelis assassinate another political leader, it can certainly lead to more shooting. If Palestinians send another suicide bomber into Israel, it can certainly lead to more bombing and shelling.

We must redouble our efforts to end this larger on-going seige and the entire Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It is in the end of occupation that both Palestinian and Israeli people will find security. It is in the end of occupation that both Israeli and Palestinian children will find a future of hope and possibility. It is in the end of occupation that the region can begin to build an interrelated web of cultural, economic, and political interests.

Continue your work for a just and sustainable peace in this region. Continue your prayers for the children of Sarah, Abraham and Hagar.

Blessings,
Sandra

* Rev. Sandra Olewine, United Methodist Liaison - Jerusalem.

August 31, 2001