Beit Sahour is still traumatized following the last two days of events, namely the killing of a citizen from Beit Sahour and the vandalism of many buildings, courtesy of the Israeli troops who forced their way into our homes and institutions. This is a nightmare we all wish to wake up from; we want to forget these past 12 days.
Beit Sahour is still traumatized following the last two days of events, namely the killing of a citizen from Beit Sahour and the vandalism of many buildings, courtesy of the Israeli troops who forced their way into our homes and institutions. This is a nightmare we all wish to wake up from; we want to forget these past 12 days.
Beit Sahour, along with many other Palestinians cities and villages, are for the second Sunday forbidden from going to church to hold traditional Sunday service as we are still under the strictly imposed curfew. This is the 13th day. This is the 13the day that Christians have been prevented from observing their rituals and traditions. This is the 13th day of desperation and hopelessness. This is the 13th day where we worry for the lives of lour families, our loved ones and ourselves.
Despite the fact that we are living under the Israeli oppression and aggression, suffering yet more destruction, humiliation, we Palestinians condemn any act that target civilians, Palestinians or Israelis. We must also denounce those terror acts committed by Sharon’s troops against our civilians everywhere in Palestine, and in particular against Jenin and Nablus. We denounce the killing of innocent Israelis in West Jerusalem, we demand that the Bush, Powell and all the other politicians denounce the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians. But isn’t it time to stop the condemnation and to start with serious actions that will halt this situation on the ground in Palestine? Isn’t time for Mr. Powell to force a just peace plan that will provide security for both Palestinians and Israelis?
The situation at the Nativity Church is the same. We are all well aware of the meeting held yesterday at the American consulate in West Jerusalem with Mr. Powell, the Latin Patriarch Michael Sabbah and other heads of churches where the Nativity church issue was concentrated on, as well as discussing the overall situation in Palestine. Mr. Powell has promised to resolve the matter without further bloodshed. The Nativity Church is the temporary resting place of another martyr. A policeman was snipped by the Israeli troops stationed around the houses looking into the Church. We pray to God that neither the people inside the church nor the Church premises shall come under the Israeli troops shelling.
In Beit Sahour, people are still in shock from the killing of Mr. Attalah Al Hayek, and are even more afraid to look out of their windows. We know that the soldiers mean to harm us.
Schools are closed; children are very frustrated and frequently ask Mama, how can Israeli soldiers close our schools and universities? Mama, do the Israelis have the right to prevent us from going to school and from attending Sunday school as well? How do you try to make those children understand the seriousness of this bloody conflict? But to be honest with you, our children learn the truth themselves, they learn it from their own experiences. They are learning it now and learning it the hard way.
Let us take the opportunity this Sunday to hold prayers from home and pray to God to put an end to the suffering of our people. To put some common sense into the leaders who have the power to stop this madness and to force negotiations in an effort to stop the escalation of the deadly conflict.
The Israeli troops and tanks are preventing neither humanitarian nor medical aid to be allowed into Ramallah, Nablus and Jenin as well as to the 236 citizens stranded inside the Nativity Church. Bethlehem has managed to receive some humanitarian aid from our friends, other Christians, Moslems and Jews from the 1948 areas. Beit Sahour has also received two more trucks of food that will be distributed the next time the curfew will be lifted. It has only been through the help of concerned friends who have tried to ease the suffering. We do not know where this will all end, but we pray that it will soon, and that the world will see the reality of what has happened here and understand the anguish and heartache that we have all gone through.
Suzan Sahori
Beit Sahour Municipality
Beit Sahour
Palestine
