Moving Stories 80 - As we find it!

September 13, 2006

The Rt. REV. RIAH H. ABU El-ASSA , Bishop, The Diocese of Jerusalem, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria wrote, as part of a letter on 01 August 2006

“And, the offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza has been relentless. This week when Jan Egeland, the U.N.'s Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs visited Jerusalem, he focused much of his attention on "the tragedy happening in the Gaza Strip".  He does not understand what benefit Israel will gain from punishing 1.4 million people by cutting them off from their sources of electricity and jobs, from running water in their houses and from fresh food. "What is the message that the residents of Gaza receive from the sight of mountains of tomatoes tossed out on the side of the road at the border crossings into Israel? That they should be more productive and support peace?" Saturday, after waiting two and one half hours at the checkpoint, our delegation visited Gaza on a mission of mercy, taking medical and relief supplies to hospitals and shelters. Israel Defence Forces tanks had pushed back before dawn, just one day after ending an unusually deadly incursion that killed thirty Palestinians over three days. According to an Associated Press count, in the past one month period, Israeli troops have killed 159 Palestinians since they started their relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip in response to the capture of soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.  I have seen the Caterpillar bulldozers and the orchards of oranges uprooted by them. I saw an apartment building where forty families were given forty minutes to leave before it was demolished into a pile of rubble. I have heard the concern of the Director of our Al-Ahli Arab Hospital regarding medical supplies, staffing shortages, and lack of fuel to run the generators essential to critical care. And, I have seen children playing near mountains of garbage which are the breeding ground to rats and the threat of cholera, a disease that I watched devastate India when I lived there. We must not become complacent or be desensitized by the images of this human tragedy.”

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IBRAHIM

My wife and I are Palestinian Christians from Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. We live in the Christian triangle, where the majority of inhabitants are Christian. When the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles at Pentecost, Arabs were there who became Christians. Believe me, you did not export Christianity to us. It is because of us that you are Christian today.

Let me tell you about the Wall which runs through the West Bank. It runs well inside the 1947 Armistice Line, beginning in the northern part of the West Bank, and has taken another 4% of the West Bank territory from us. The major settlements built by the Israelis since 1967 lie to the west of the line of the Wall. The Wall and the settlements divide the West Bank into three parts and to go from one part to another is not easy. You have to pass through checkpoints, wait for hours or be turned back – or you may even be detained, because the Israelis have you on a blacklist. The Wall encloses the most fertile areas of the West Bank and its water resources.

The Wall is simply a land grab, land confiscation. Already major parts of the planned 683 kilometres have been built. This Wall or Fence will do the Israelis no good. If they want to build a wall and live in their ghetto mentality, let them build one on their own land and not on ours!

The gates in the fence are not there to let people through easily. They are manned by Israeli soldiers, who open and close them at will. Palestinians are searched and humiliated and delayed for hours. Often people who have agricultural land beyond the 'fence' cannot reach it. This includes their olive trees which have a very special place in Palestinian life, and play a major part in our economy. In the last 5 years, over a million trees – a quarter of these olive trees - have been razed.

Bethlehem and Jerusalem are only 7 kilometres apart. As a boy, I used to go to Jerusalem on foot. Now we Christians cannot reach Jerusalem for religious festivals or any other purpose. Two months ago, our eldest daughter needed an operation in Jerusalem. Only my wife was permitted to visit her, I and her husband were refused permits. Till 1997, we had a forest on a hill nearby, where people went to walk and enjoy the shade from the summer heat. Then the Israelis flattened the trees and built their Har Homa settlement on our green mountain.

Since 1967, 19 illegal colonies (I prefer that word to 'settlement' which sounds like something good) have been built on Bethlehem land; you can also see 'outposts', which consist of one or two caravans, the beginning of a new colony. When Sharon said he was closing some settlements he only meant a few small outposts. We have around 77,000 Israeli settlers in the Bethlehem area.

We Palestinians cannot drive more than 4 or 5 kilometres from the centre of our town without meeting a checkpoint We cannot reach Jericho (45 kms from Bethlehem) without a permit. It is habitual, every night, for Israel to detain (that is to say kidnap) Palestinians. 10,000 are now in Israeli jails. But when three Israeli soldiers are kidnapped, the world stands up and protests.

Hamas, which today Israel calls terrorists is an organisation that Israel helped to promote. In 1984-85 they turned a blind eye to Hamas, as they hoped Hamas would defeat the PLO. In Gaza Hamas built schools, clinics, and worked with poor people. And its influence grew. So, why do you accept Mr. Blair's definition of terrorism? As to suicide bombers, I tell you plainly that I condemn their actions. But when a 20 year old has seen his brother shot, his father humiliated, his house blown up, then these youngsters believe they can fight Israel using their bodies. But even if they came to Israel bearing flowers instead of bombs, it would make no difference. Peace is not an Israeli interest.

Believe me, we do not hate you, as President Bush seems to believe, but we hate what your governments are doing. Palestinians and Arab countries have accepted that they live with Israel on 22% of historic Palestine (the whole of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip), but we cannot settle for anything less than that. I have Jewish friends. I can live with them. As an Oriental Christian, I believe in the love of God and his mercy. I believe that God's love is for all people. More than that, if I am not one of God's people, to whom he has made a promise, what was the point of Jesus coming and dying on the Cross? Nor are we Christians in dispute with the Muslims. It is not our Muslim neighbours who take our land – it is the Israelis. Three months ago, two men were killed by the Israeli special units in Bethlehem. One was a Muslim, one was a Christian.

What can you do?

• Pray for us – that is very important.
• Come and visit us. See for yourselves. Don't let the Israelis deter you. Believe me, it is safer in Bethlehem than in Tel Aviv.
• Buy our products and boycott Israeli products – not for ever, but while this inhuman, illegal occupation continues.
• Write to your media and tell them they have got it wrong and they are liars. Tell them 'You are one-sided and this is not the truth.'

Write to your MPs. Tell them you know what is going on and you condemn this.

AHMED SOURANI.

I work for the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee. There has been so much destruction in the Gaza Strip. We have lost so much in the last five years, especially in the last month. First is the destruction of land. Next, with the closure of the borders farmers cannot export their produce. They can only sell locally. Farmers have to sell at prices that don't even cover production costs. Nearly a quarter of the agricultural land is near the border. Israel has created a buffer zone, which prevents farmers from reaching their land. This is a human rights issue. Israel is not allowing Palestinian farmers to earn a living from their own land. Unfortunately, we find ourselves dealing with relief and emergency projects, which is not good for development. One of our projects involves buying produce from poor farmers and giving it to poor families. We buy cheese, couscous, jam, local honey and eggs from poor farmers and women's cooperatives at a price that gives them a profit. We then give fresh baskets to families in refugee camps.

We try to mix our work between emergency and development. But we may have to implement this emergency plan full-time.
To read the full article and others of interest http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/5235318.stm

A THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE

One of the beautiful and challenging sections in the Sermon on the Mount according to Matthew is found when Jesus exhorts his disciples to love and pray for their enemies, (Matthew 5:44-46) To read a full theological reflection visit “Summer Rains” www.sabeel.org.