The village is under curfew until Thursday morning” were the words of Israeli soldiers, passing through the streets of Taybeh, Tuesday morning, calling to impose curfew. These words echoed in the ears of Taybeh people to wake them up, as from a bad dream. Mixed feelings of fear and concern overwhelmed the hearts of men, women and children. What actually made them more horrified are the dreadful scenes that they watch on TV, of what happened in most of the West Bank towns and camps, especially in Jenin refugee camp. Also, the horrible sounds of shooting and bombing that they hear, almost every night from all directions, added to their fear.

“The village is under curfew until Thursday morning” were the words of Israeli soldiers, passing through the streets of Taybeh, Tuesday morning, calling to impose curfew. These words echoed in the ears of Taybeh people to wake them up, as from a bad dream. Mixed feelings of fear and concern overwhelmed the hearts of men, women and children. What actually made them more horrified are the dreadful scenes that they watch on TV, of what happened in most of the West Bank towns and camps, especially in Jenin refugee camp. Also, the horrible sounds of shooting and bombing that they hear, almost every night from all directions, added to their fear.

It was 7:20 A.M. when Israeli jeeps full of soldiers drove in the streets of Taybeh to enforce curfew. Terrified children fleeing the Taybeh Orthodox School, which decided Tuesday April 16, 2002 to be its first day of school after three weeks of closure. The children ran in panic, right and left, some of them tried at least to have a temporary shelter to hide from these “frightening moving objects”, while they are under influence of what happened to children in their age in other West Bank towns and villages,  as shown on TV.

Consequently, parents rushed into the streets in panic looking for their children and wishing to be lucky enough to buy some food, especially bread and milk. Three weeks of complete siege created shortage of food and medicine. In one hour the streets were empty, except some people who for sure had an urgent need, perhaps milk for a baby or medicine for a 70 year old.

Neighbors and friends called one another to check if somebody was in need of anything. The two doctors in the village were in a state of maximum alert. The priests also called certain families to check weather they need anything and see if they can help in one way or another before it gets “dark”. 

Taybeh people spent the day in their homes watching the news of their fellowmen killed, wounded, captivated and humiliated, expecting the worse of the worst and praying to God to save them from a brutal, inhuman violence. Israeli forces reinforced curfew and besieged tens of West Bank villages whose inhabitants suffer, if not physically, psychologically.

For the world, what counts now is “POWER, MONEY, and TECHNOLOGY”, while “right, fair, and principle” are some of the terms the world dropped from its dictionary. The man became the cruelest enemy of the man.

The incident in Taybeh village is minimal compared to what took place and what might take place in Palestine. We from Taybeh, the village of peace, the village which hosted the Prince of Peace, our lord and savior Jesus Christ,  appeal to the whole world to stop the running river of blood in the Holy Land.

Sima Khoury

Taybeh ,April 16, 2002