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Bethlehem 

I arrived in Bethlehem on the 20th November to work with the team that is based in the city of Christ’s birth. The Israeli army had entered the town and there was shooting in Manger Square. Many roads were closed and things felt very tense. Three people were shot but, thankfully, nobody was killed in this particular army incursion.

The next morning I and two other members of the team headed for the checkpoint and huge security wall that Israel has constructed through Bethlehem and much of the rest of the West Bank. It is 5am  and huge crowds have gathered, many have been waiting since 3am, in the hope of being allowed to pass through the gate in the wall to reach their places of work in Jerusalem. People are herded into a long metal cage before finally reaching the gate to begin the long process of security checks. The gate is supposed to open at 5am but today the soldiers open it at 5.30. I hear a soldier shout out in Arabic that the people will have to learn to wait and slowly, in scenes of complete chaos, people begin to pass through, crushed on all sides. I notice an elderly lady clinging to the side of the cage hoping not to be crushed. Somehow she still managed to look dignified. We manage to help her to get through more quickly. On the other side of the wall, everyone still faces airport style security checks before finally being able to continue on their journeys. For many the whole process takes up to 4 hours and then they have a full working day in front of them. Some will not reach their destination because, for one reason or another, they will be refused entry and forced to return.

We try to help as best we can escorting women and children through the wall but there is little we can do for the men who are waiting. From time to time groups of men return having been refused entry and thus facing another day without work. How much longer will they have any form of employment when they are unable to guarantee even being able to reach their employer?  By 8am things are quieter but a large group of children, around 6 or 7 years old, seem to be having problems being allowed through to their schools on the other side of the wall. They are eventually refused entry because they do not have proof of their ages or dates of birth - another day without school. We escort them back to their homes in Bethlehem exasperated at  some of the ridiculous rules that exist in this land.

Israel constructed what they call a security barrier and others know as an apartheid wall (above) to try and stop suicide bombers from getting into the country. Israel would have the right to do this if it followed their internationally recognised border but this wall swallows huge chunks of Palestinian territory in what seems to be an attempt to grab as much land as possible. I stare in amazement and cannot quite take in what has happened. The picture below shows this clearly.

Notice how the wall cuts in around the olive plantations which are now inaccessible to their Palestinian owners who are on the other side of the wall. Their olive trees are now in Israel!  If  this was just an attempt to stop suicide bombers you would expect the wall to be a straight barrier but it snakes in and out of Palestinian land taking many of the best water sources and making illegal Israeli settlements part of Israel by altering the border so these places are now on the Israeli side of the wall.

Even more shocking is the route taken by the wall in Bethlehem itself. It cuts off one side of the road from the other, family members from each other, children from their schools, wrecking businesses and the economy of many of its residents. It is hard to believe that in the town of Jesus’s birth, of that place of which many will be singing in the weeks ahead "O little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie" that these things have been allowed to happen.

Israel is relying on a United States veto at the United Nations Security Council which will mean it does not have to compensate those who have lost land and property.  But can you ever compensate for the pain of not being able to reach life long friends or family members any longer?

Not surprisingly, like in other places in Palestine, many people want to leave for a better life in the West. On the other hand, I do meet people who are a great inspiration and whose courage and faith is admirable. I meet Sima, a young lady who has seen most of her family emigrate to the United States. She refuses to leave and has invested in opening a small coffee shop specialising in pastries and cakes which she loves to make (and I love to eat). She hopes for a brighter future and will not leave. At Bethlehem University I meet Khalil whose studies could allow him to make a lot of money if he were to move to the West but, again, he is determined to stay and see a better future here. Many people do feel despair here yet, like elsewhere in Palestine, I  find a friendly and welcoming people who are suffering a great injustice. Things are so bad here that people can only hope that there will be a brighter future.

The story of Bethlehem today needs to be told. Please hold this town and its Muslim and Christian people in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas.

Newsletter 15th October 2006     First impressions of Yanoun

Newsletter 30th October 2006     The Olive Harvest Begins

Newsletter 14th November 2006 Does Christianity have a Future in the Holy Land ?

Newsletter 27th November 2006 Checkpoints

Newsletter 19th December 2006 Final Thoughts