June 24, 2002

Tanks at the Bethlehem Checkpoint

[Bethlehem, West Bank] As I passed by the Bethlehem checkpoint, I noticed quite a few military vehicles. It wasn't as many as last Easter (photos at Bethlehem Checkpoint), but there were still a lot of them.

Life here in Jerusalem is comparatively great. There is no curfew. There are no tanks. I had dinner last evening with friends. I went to Tel Aviv to work on my Jordanian visa. I walked in the Mediterranean at Jaffa. I ate pizza. I ran errands. I sat outside in the sun. I saw a movie. And five miles away in the West Bank, Palestinians are stuck in their homes with tanks outside their doors. They aren't allowed to leave their homes. Entire cities! No one is allowed to leave their house. It's crazy. I'm not sure people here in Jerusalem understand what it is like there, let alone folks from the rest of the world.

And what does this curfew accomplish? What can the Israeli Army do now that it couldn't do during the 40-day curfew recently? Is the army doing anything "constructive" or is it just a punishment to all Palestinians? Upset and ruin lives the best they can? Everyone gets punished for the actions of a few. International law says something about the illegality of collective punishment, if the world could find someone strong enough and willing enough to enforce it.

This is my favorite view of an Israeli tank. This means he's going somewhere else.

The track jumped off this tank. Soldiers were beating it on with a sledgehammer.

The majestic tank beast by the Bethlehem checkpoint tower.