April 3, 2002

Bethlehem Update: More Fighting in Manger Square

Nativity Church (several months ago)

[East Jerusalem, Palestine] Bethlehem is still under siege, although it was quiet in some places last night. There has been a terrible rainstorm in the area, so perhaps that contributed to a few semi-quiet hours in Bethlehem.

Manger Square has the Church of Nativity one one side and the main Bethlehem Mosque on the other. Last night the Mosque was shelled. I'm not sure about the damage. It's very difficult to find accurate information, since everyone is confined to their homes. Some people said that people were killed in the blast. And it appears that the Church of the Nativity has become a refuge to families as well as fighters. I've heard that hundreds are staying in the church that houses the spot where Jesus was born.

My good neighbor Ed told me that power is out in our neighborhood. Evidently a tank had difficulty navigating the narrow streets, and it destroyed a utility pole that delivered power. So it's cold, rainy, and dark in the community.

A lot of my friends in Bethlehem say that they have been called by reporters in the US and Europe. The reporters ask a variety of questions about how my friends feel living and working in Bethlehem and the West Bank. They ask questions about the situation, and sometimes about military capability in the region. For your information, I've listed the military might of the two groups involved:

• Israel: Many fighter planes with bombs, many attack helicopters with missiles, thousands of tanks, many military bulldozers, thousands of armored personnel carriers and machine-guns.
• Palestine: No planes, no helicopters, no tanks, no military bulldozers, and no armored personnel carriers. They do have lightweight machine-guns. and of course, suicide bombers.

Some reporters seem to have the feeling like it is a battle between two equal military powers. Haha. No way! When Israel invades the center of cities, there's not a thing Palestinians can do about it militarily. They can shoot at a tank with a their rifle. And occasionally some of them do that. But there is no stopping Israeli military movement. They can do what they want and go where they want. They are one of the most advanced military powers in the world -- and they are fighting men with secondhand rifles.

The Israeli army is trying to eliminate suicide bombers by military force. They blast through communities destroying everything in their wake. They kill some. They arrest others. They keep lists of names of suspects. I'm not an expert, and I don't know much about the "art of war." But I don't think this method will work. With every brother or father, sister or mother killed, with every indignity and humiliation suffered, with every property illegally confiscated, with every unfair act, for every oppression (and there are many) -- others are willing to join the cause -- for freedom, for fighting oppression, or for revenge. The only way this military solution works is by killing everyone! Is that the plan? There's got to be a better plan...

Again, thanks to the good folks at Catholic Relief Services in Jerusalem for allowing me to use an office with their high speed Internet connection.