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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">A good friend of mine who lives in Bethlehem
sent me an e-mail this morning. I thought a portion of it was good for on
the ground general information about what is going on there in the last
days. The second section is a letter that he attached from an acquaintance
of his (a Christian Chaplain) who sends out first hand info on what is happening
there:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><STRONG>From a friend of mine who lives in
Bethlehem:</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">"...the Israeli "Defense Forces" have come
into Bethlehem a little bit beyond their (<STRONG>my friends
in-laws</STRONG>) building on Manger Street. Five cars<BR>that were
parked on the street have been completely destroyed by the tanks, such a
defensive action. A guy that we know was shot and killed when he
was<BR>coming out of the Nativity Church. He used to work there cleaning,
he was trying to get home after finishing his work, the Israelis must be using
some<BR>pretty serious scopes if they are hitting people coming out of the
Nativity. Another two Christians were killed in Beit Jala. One was a
twenty-one year<BR>old mother of three who stuck her head out a window.
What was that you always said about the Israelis never wanting to go back into
Bethlehem? Sharon is a true maniac..." <BR> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><STRONG>This is from a Chaplain he knows who
writes updates: </STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">This will be a brief note to give you a
glimpse into the events which we<BR>have experienced here in the Bethlehem area
in the last 41 hours.</FONT></DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">
<DIV><BR>I was walking home for the church on Thursday evening a little
after<BR>6:00 pm, when friends pulled up in their car to let me know that
Israeli<BR>forces has just assassinated 3 Fatah activist on a road
between<BR>Bethlehem and Beit Sahour, evidently through a phone-detonated bomb
in a<BR>car. This helped explained the sense of hurry in the market, as
people<BR>were quickly closing their stores and Palestinian security forces
were<BR>beginning to assemble in the streets.<BR><BR>Within about an hour the
first gunshots in the air began as men gathered<BR>at the hospital in Beit Jala
where the bodies had been taken. By 10:00<BR>pm, a heavy engagement with
Israeli forces had begun. Israeli tanks<BR>were on the move into the city
very quickly, which means the Israelis<BR>were poised and ready for such an
action. As they had entered parts of<BR>Ramallah, Jenin and Al Bireh the night
before, this was not a surprise.<BR>All night long Palestinian gunfire responded
to Israeli machine guns,<BR>tanks shells and helicopter machine guns.
<BR><BR>I have to say that with the sound of the helicopters approaching came
a<BR>major adrenalin rush, as my own body seemed to remember the last
time<BR>they were in the neighborhood a missile was fired over my
house,<BR>exploding into the market one block away.<BR><BR>About an hour later,
Israeli air force jets began a slow fly over of<BR>Bethlehem. It was
impossible not to hold one's breath, waiting for the<BR>sound of an explosion of
a bomb being dropped. Rationally, I thought to<BR>myself, "Surely, they
can't drop a bomb here; there isn't enough open<BR>space. They'd kill so many
people." And luckily, they didn't drop one<BR>-- this time.<BR><BR>At 3:00
am I could hear gun and tank fire nearby and then the sound of<BR>glass
shattering in our neighborhood. It was a long night in much of<BR>the area
as no sleep was possible. <BR><BR>As daylight broke the phone began to
ring as people checked in with each<BR>other and to discover what we could about
the situation. Israeli tanks<BR>had entered Bethlehem, coming down both
Manger Street and Hebron Road.<BR>They had come into Beit Jala from beyond
Talitha Cumi School and from<BR>Aida Refugee Camp. They had come into the
south and were poised on a<BR>hill south of the Church of the Nativity.
<BR><BR>The tanks came as far as the Bethlehem Hotel on Manger Road and near
the<BR>Women's Dorm for Bethlehem University on Hebron Road. People in
the<BR>Bible College in Bethlehem talked about how the tanks had rumbled
down<BR>the street in the middle of the night.<BR><BR>Firing from Palestinians
and from Israeli forces continued throughout<BR>the day. Very few people
moved. It was too dangerous for those in most<BR>neighborhoods to leave
the relative safety of homes. Although by late<BR>in the afternoon, homes
were not safe either, as 3 Palestinians were<BR>killed by Israeli fire in their
own homes, one woman (age 25) was killed<BR>in El Khader, one youth (age 19) was
killed in Beit Jala and one man<BR>(age 25) was killed in Aida Refugee
Camp.<BR><BR>Around 6:00 pm, more tanks entered Beit Jala, again coming down the
main<BR>road from the hill above, stopping in the neighborhood by the
Orthodox<BR>Club.<BR><BR>The tanks began to move again in the Bethlehem area
around 8 pm last<BR>night and they began sending shells into new areas in
Bethlehem. Around<BR>9:30 pm, it became extremely quiet. In
different areas through the<BR>night, one could here a few eruptions of gunfire
and then a loud<BR>explosion, evidently the tanks firing. But, it was
possible to grab a<BR>few hours of sleep, unlike the night before.<BR><BR>By
this morning - the IDF has taken 2 hotels, possibly a 3rd in<BR>Bethlehem.
The newly constructed Intercontinental Hotel on Hebron Road<BR>and the Paradise
Hotel on Manger Road were occupied yesterday by Israeli<BR>forces. News
this morning is that they also have now taken the<BR>Bethlehem Hotel, which is
about 1/2 kilometer (1/4 mile) beyond the<BR>Paradise Hotel. Around 9:30
this morning, a friend at the checkpoint<BR>said 3 new tanks were rolling into
Bethlehem. <BR><BR>Currently, there is no way in or out of Bethlehem, Beit
Jala, Beit<BR>Sahour or El Khader. No cars can enter or exit as the roads
are blocked<BR>by tanks. As of this morning still, no one is allowed through on
foot,<BR>although a couple of foreigners have made their way through Tantur,
at<BR>great risk however.<BR><BR>All stores, except for the pharmacies and bread
stores, are closed today<BR>in memorial of the three Palestinians killed
yesterday. All schools are<BR>closed for the safety of the children.
There are a few more people on<BR>the street today, but very few. As I
made the decision to leave the<BR>house and get to the church to send this,
shooting began again.<BR><BR>The Israelis have said they will stay "until 'it'
is completed."<BR>Although "it" is not defined and so one can only guess
what that means.<BR>The IDF has sent numerous tanks (evidently around 30 into
Bethlehem area<BR>alone) into all major Palestinian population centers in the
West Bank<BR>but Jericho and the Palestinian-controlled section of
Hebron.<BR><BR>And the world has remained silent. The US has said little
more than<BR>"these actions are not helpful," which translates into a green
light to<BR>Prime Minister Sharon.<BR><BR>Friends, we are on the verge of a very
dangerous situation, where many<BR>lives could be lost. As Sharon on given
Arafat a 7-day ultimatum, to<BR>'hand over' suspects in the assassination of
Ze'evi, and as Arafat can<BR>certainly arrest and try them but never hand them
over, we could be<BR>looking at a veritable blood bath by next Wednesday.
Israeli forces are<BR>certainly in a position now to carry out attacks across
the West Bank<BR>and Gaza.<BR><BR>Contact your elected officials and urge them
to intercede before more<BR>Palestinians and Israelis are
killed.<BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR>XXXXX</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dear friends,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>About an hour ago, I found out that my friend's 15 year old son was killed
in Manger Square - Johnny Taljiah. He was just sitting there and was hit
by a bullet. He is the 3rd child today in the Bethlehem area which has
been killed. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The sounds of helicopters over the city is deafening now. Tank shells
are exploding down the street as I write this, making the whole building
shake.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>An announcement from the minaret has just finished - all citizens are
called to remain inside, to try to not be afraid, to stay united in the face of
the aggression. The Israeli forces have entered most areas of the city
now.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Pray for us tonight - demand action today!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Blessings,<BR>XXXXXXXXXXXX</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Bryan Atinsky<BR>IMC-Israel <BR>English
Editorial Coordinator<BR><A
href="http://www.indymedia.org.il">http://www.indymedia.org.il</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>