I just called my cousin in Ramallah. She told me that she just went out to get some groceries. As she arrived in Manara Square and Israeli soldiers saw her car, they shot in the air to scare her away and make way for an Israeli tank to pass. She told me that they believed that the curfew was lifted until five o’clock, however, according to other sources, the curfew was supposed to be lifted until six o’clock.
At this moment more than 200 Israeli tanks have entered Jenin. Also at this moment in Bethlehem, there are seven injured civilians inside the Church of the Nativity, the holy site at the location Christians believe Jesus was born. Ambulances are prevented from evacuating them. The Omar Mosque, which is located opposite the church, was shelled by Israeli forces and caught fire.
A colleague of mine just called me from Beit Jala. He told me that a pregnant woman was held up at a checkpoint coming from Walaja on her way to a hospital in Beit Jala. She delivered the baby at the checkpoint but it did not survive. He also told me that a mother and her son were killed in the old city of Bethlehem. Their home was shelled and now taken over by the Israeli forces. Tanks and bulldozers are currently demolishing homes in the old city of Bethlehem.
Palestine is facing a humanitarian crisis and not one single state is intervening. We are witnessing war crimes for which Slobodan Milosovic is being charged in The Hague. No surprise, it is Ariel Sharon who leads “Israel’s path to peace” and every single Palestinian knows his record, from Qibiya to Gaza to Sabra & Shatila to his war on the entire Palestinian population today. If someone is still optimistic about refuseniks, note that 20,000 reservists are serving in the Occupied Palestinian Territories at this moment. More than 95 percent of those who have been called to serve do actually serve, complicit in Israel’s violations of humanitarian law, which include war crimes and crimes against humanity.
When can I stop counting, please tell me.
