Fwd: 3/31 Report From Bethlehem

[Doug Henwood]

3/31 Report From Bethlehem mike burke Mar 31, 2002 09:20 PST

Below is the latest report from Kristen in Bethlehem... this can also 
be read on the NYC Indymedia site along with audio interviews and 
older reports from members of the NYC delegation.

Bethlehem, Palestine
31 March 2002

Last night, 30 March 2002, 20 of us stayed in Al Azzeh refugee camp 
of 5,000 inside of Bethlehem with several families expecting an 
invasion by the Israeli military. We went two to a house. There is no 
land to build on, so any new homes are built atop existing ones. At 
the house I stayed in, we watched Arfat on television most of the 
night giving a press conference inside his compound in Ramallah. At 
10pm he was given one hour to surrender by Israeli military or they 
would go in shooting. This has not yet happened and he has said he 
will not go alive.

Television stations showed five dead, shot at point blank range 
inside Arafat's compound. The family I was with stays up most of the 
night and sleeps during the morning daylight hours. The shooting at 
nights requires them to quickly move from one room to the next, and 
to always be ready. They do not jump when they hear the popping of 
F-16s. They simply get up and move as the noise becomes louder.

There was a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. The bomber was from Nablus, 
which is further north from Bethlehem. The families inside of Al 
Azzeh refugee camp expected Israeli military to invade the camp and 
disappear all of the men aged 16 to 50 years old. Israeli snipers 
continued to fire into the camp throughout the night. They fired at 
Palestinians and internationals alike as we scurried across roads to 
get inside of the houses, which are litered with bullet holes. Many 
of the windows are protected by bags of sand. We met the mother of a 
14 year old Palestinian girl who was shot by Israeli snipers as she 
opened the front door of her house inside the camp two weeks ago. I 
was expected to address a conference at Columbia University in NYC 
via telephone at 3:30 am Palestinian time, but my cel phone was 
unable to function.

All international media has been asked to leave Bethlehem. Now the 
Palestinian people need all people from around the globe as much as 
ever. I write this quickly to you all from Dehesha refugee camp 
because invasion of Bethlehem is now imminent. It is expected within 
the next two hours. It is now 1:30 pm. We are told that if Arafat is 
assasinated the Israeli military will fully re-occupy the entire West 
Bank, of which Bethlehem is a part. We will return to Al Azzeh camp 
within the hour to stand in solidarity with our Palestinian families 
as the invasion unfolds. Yesterday Beit Jala, the town without lights 
at night that stands across the valley from an Israel settlement 
fully lit conected by a bridge that only Israelis are allowed to use, 
was invaded in order to be at the highest point surrounding 
Bethlehem. Parts of Beit Jala are under curfew. It is still 
impossible to get to Ramallah, where Palestinians and internationals 
are asking for assistance. Some are blocking tanks, others defied the 
curfew by donating blood. As here in Bethlehem, in Ramallah 
internationals are also riding along inside of ambulences.

We are here in solidarity with the Palestinian peoplein order to 
bring attention to the brutal military occupation, sanctions, 
killings, and daily humiliation Palestinians face at the hands of 
Israeli military and government.

Bethelehem, according to those who live there, is virtually deserted. 
Streets that once swarmed with life are mostly shut down now. All 
schools are evacuated. Teachers say they are not afraid. Many 
Palestinians say all they have left is their will.

We have been thanked and fed and described as peace prophets. Our 
presence is necessary and deeply appreciated. We request that as many 
of you who receive this help in any way you can. I can only ask that 
we all please raise awarness of this situation, work on divestment 
campaigns, and tell Bush and the US government that their funding of 
the Israeli military is a terrorist atrocity which must not be stood 
for. We will update you as much as possible.

Thank you so much for your caring and interest. A suicide bomber has 
just hit Haifa, which is about 90 km from Tel Aviv.

Salaam,

Kristen Schurr
Bethlehem, Palestine 31 March 2002