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An Nu’man [Village near Bethlehem] The Bethlehem area lies south of Jerusalem. It is an area of about 132 square miles and is home to over 180,000 Palestinians. It has been an Israeli target since the 1967 War when five square miles were annexed to Israel to become part of Jerusalem. After 1967, Palestinian owners were allowed access to their annexed land, but in more recent years, the building of Israeli settlements, Israeli-only highways and the construction of the Apartheid Wall, all illegal according to international law, have resulted in more and more land being confiscated, and there is little or no access to this annexed land.
On Saturday, May 5th,
Loretta and Martha went from Beit Sahour with George and a young journalist,
both with the Palestinian Rapprochement Center, to the village of An
Nu’man near Bethlehem.
Following the 1967 War, Israel took half of this village for illegal
settlements. The other half of the village is being choked off as villagers are
encircled by the Apartheid Wall. It is difficult for villagers to leave and
almost impossible for outsiders, even ambulances, to enter. Children are
harassed as they try to go to school. Anything to bleed the village of
inhabitants so that the land can more easily be confiscated by Israel!
We drove up and down hills as steep as those in San Francisco, but with much narrower roads. In the beautiful area where we went, the illegal Apartheid Wall, a military tower and a military checkpoint have been built next to an Israeli-only highway.
About forty Israeli
peace activists had come to
the wall, a high wire fence, from
About twenty soldiers
had come in three army
jeeps and were milling
around among the
Israeli peace
activists. At one
point the soldiers asked the activists
to move off the highway and then called the blue-uniformed military
police.
Some of the Israeli peace activists tried to talk to the Israeli soldiers. They could not engage the soldiers in conversation, but no one was arrested.
Two huge Israeli army jeeps were noticed coming around to our side of the high wire fence. Our group was advised by group leaders to begin leaving the area as a group, which we did. A worry was that we could be cornered into a fenced-off area by the road.
Six soldiers got out of the two jeeps and walked near us. Several Palestinians tried to speak with them, telling them that they, the Palestinians, were on their own land and that the soldiers were the ones trespassing. The soldiers did not reply despite the efforts of a persistent young man who continued to try to talk to them. Our group on the side of the fence opposite the Israeli peace activists consisted of about 50 people including Palestinians, seven internationals with Ecumenical Accompaniment of the World Council of Churches, a woman from a Norwegian churches’ aid group and we two from MPT.
One soldier moved up the hill above us, automatic rifle ready, and another went down the slope near trees with rifle ready. We stayed a few minutes longer so as to leave when we were ready to leave rather than when the soldiers told us to leave, and then departed peacefully. Our thoughts as we moved away from the oppressive scene with rifle-ready soldiers in this picturesque land were that this Israeli occupation of the Palestinians is supported by five billion dollars per year of USA tax dollars. What a waste of time and energy for young Israeli people who as soldiers participate in this oppression and what a sad waste for Palestinians who love this land where they have lived for thousands of years.
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