News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 188 - Saturday, 18 January 2003
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
I was very busy
this week not only for the bishop’s conference meetings in Jerusalem that I
have already reported you about, but also for making a deal to sell the “Taybeh
Olive Oil” to a French Importer from a “fair trade” company who came specially
to visit us and make this deal which will be the first step towards further collaboration
in the near future. He will buy the first 20 feet container of 13.600 litters
of our Oil which will be on the French market next April 1st. We
hope to sell around 50 to 70 thousand litters each year if our oil will be sold
very well in the 500 supermarkets which will sell it. This will help our
farmers to sell the huge stock that they have at their homes, will also
encourage them to return back to their land and take care of their olive
groves, and will strengthen their belonging and attachment to the land. I am
very glad and very proud that we will not only have “Taybeh Beer”, but also “Taybeh
Olive Oil”. It will be one of the main source of income to all the members of
our community and the whole village. We hope to develop this sector and upgrade
it’s quality to increase both the quantity and the quality of our product. Please,
don’t understand from this that I am a businessman, I was only a channel and
facilitator and I will quit when everything will go very well with our small committee
that we setup to continue this work. I wanted only to help our people sell
their oil because it was an urgent need. It is really true that “Need is the
mother of invention”!!
I will only send
you today three but very important documents:
1) The Letter from Berthlehem # 46 about the
inescapable reality of curfew in Bethlehem.
2) The program of
the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity 2003 in Jerusalem, January 19-26. ( we will have such a common
prayer in our parish next Friday afternoon at the very old Byzantine 4th
century church of St Georges. All the Latin Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox
priest and communities will take part in it).
3) And finally, a very important document
about “The Situation and Needs of the General Population”, presented to the Meeting
of Bishops’ Conference Presidents with Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the
Holy Land in Jerusalem, 14 January 2003. Presented by: Claudette Habesch Secretary
General, Caritas Jerusalem and President, Caritas MONA
Have a good
reading and pray for and with us as we do for all of you.
Best wishes
from Taybeh the Land of Olive Oil. Fr.
Raed Abushalia
Letter from Bethlehem (46)
Toine van Teeffelen
January 18, 2003
Today at five in
the morning a passing jeep announces "forbidden to go out." It’s the
third consecutive day of curfew. However, when Mary puts on the local TV the
subtitles say that the curfew is supposed to be lifted. Indeed, the streets are
full of cars. In fact, everybody expected that this Saturday the town would
open because the Armenian patriarch enters Bethlehem in advance of the Armenian
Christmas tomorrow. I bring Jara to the street corner where the school bus will
pick her up. After a while, no bus comes, and we see school children returning
home. It's curfew after all, confirms a student. Jara enthusiastically goes
back home to tell her mother the news. (Lately she told Mary that she was
"angry at the curfew like father," but without much conviction, Mary
told me). Mary calls the school, but of course the line is busy. From another
parent we hear that a teacher told parents to watch out for the local news.
However, the local TV stations have different messages or no message at all. We
spend an hour speculating about what is happening. Terra Sancta School
announces that they will have lessons, but it seems the Freres' remains closed.
Also the university closes. Mary: "What is this feeling, when you
enthusiastically want to start working" – she has a lot of books to
classify, and she likes it – "and you feel that there is a new day, and
then it's all over." "Frustration," I say. She hears that
students coming from Hebron were already half-way, then had to turn back. Local
TV shows an announcement saying that a planned wedding at 15:00 in the Church
of Nativity will not be cancelled. Like us, when we planned for Tamer's
baptism on a feast day, they thought that the Armenian Patriarch's entry would
guarantee a free day. Despite the confusion they still decided to go for it,
curfew or not. Suddenly the local station is taken out of the air. Mary says
that many people in the Bethlehem area cannot receive Mahed TV station because
a couple of weeks ago equipment was damaged during a bombing or explosion.
From my study
corner I observe through the window how groups of youths once again come
together at the entry of 'Azza camp and how children and women are watching out
on the roofs, suddenly running from one side to the other as soon as they spot
jeeps coming. Mary and I take coffee with cookies. A cruel joke says that half
of the Bethlehemites, those who still have money, become fatter because they
eat at home during curfews (bizr, nuts, especially), while the other
half who don't have money become thinner. "I feel like going to the
Nativity Square just to welcome the Patriarch," sighs Mary. "I didn't
do anything for the last two hours but still feel tired." When she leaves
with Jara and Tamer, I stay watching them until they appear out of sight. A
precautionary measure; you never know whether the jeeps pass by. Later on we
hear that there was an attack in Hebron on a settler family this morning. The
curfew apparently was a punishment for that. Now only Armenians are allowed to
welcome the Patriarch. Local TV shows how this morning the tires of several
cars that trespassed the curfew were emptied.
*
* *
One cannot
imagine how much time is allocated to the talk about the curfews, the reasons,
the duration, the changes. Lots of interpretations present themselves. This
week's curfew could have occurred because a bomb was found in the center of
Bethlehem, or because the Israelis didn't want to be disturbed while building
the fence between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, or because of the Israeli elections
later this month. According to Bethlehem University students from Jerusalem,
the army lately distributed a pamphlet in Abu Dis, a quarter within the
boundaries of Jerusalem, in which a curfew was announced for the Palestinian
quarters inside Jerusalem, apparently for the period before the elections. This
would have been a whole new development; it happened almost never before that
Palestinians inside Jerusalem came under curfew. But up until now that curfew
did not materialize; instead there is a prolonged curfew in Bethlehem and some
other West Bank cities.
There is also
talk about how the curfews are designed to divide the community. For instance
it is said: "See how they want to punish the Moslems, the opening hours on
the Friday are at 14:00, after the prayers!" "Write in your
letter," says Mary, "that the sheikh told in the shop that for
sure there would be no curfew today since the Armenian Patriarch has good
relations with the Israelis. He was wrong!" All the talk is basically a
desperate attempt to feel some kind of control over an unpredictable reality.
Many interpretations come from hearsay, from the tabour khamis, the
fifth platoon in an army, as the local expression runs. Other talk is about
which supplies to stock up. The last three weeks, supermarkets did not receive
some essential supplies. Mary suggests me not to drink too much milk in view of
the coming war. For the moment, I refuse.
All the talk
about the curfew, the why's and the how's, are simply lost hours and, in fact,
a kind of negative time since it takes energy away. Many stay silent at work
because they don't want to bother others with their worries. Moreover, they
want to avoid hearing about the others' worries in return and ending up with a
bigger depression. But not talking is even less healthier. "The Israelis
want us only to think about the curfew and about nothing else," says Fuad.
The expression "mamnu'ah tajaawel" [forbidden to go out] is
hated but at the same time subject of every talk. The other day, when Elias
said goodbye, he added, "Have a good day, with or without curfew or
rain." Like the curfew, heavy rain often keeps people at home. As it
turned out, we had curfew with rain.
*
* *
While on
Madbasseh Street I watch the passers by. Over time they have become thinner and
older, with paler, furrowed faces. For a moment I imagine the people walking as
they were four or five years ago, head high, having expectations, calmer. The
same people have now become clearly poorer; they wear a shifty look and walk
restlessly in dirty surroundings full of unremoved papers and garbage. I feel
like watching a fast-playing film in which the slow process of deterioration is
reduced to a few seconds. Still, there are many people smiling and laughing.
It's part of the culture, although the smile may hide the sadness.
*
* *
Another topic of
talk: the many illnesses. Last weekend Fuad's wife Sylvana fainted and was
carried to hospital. It turned out not to be serious and she is already back at
work in the family shop. But during the first night her family was worried, not
in the last place because, due to the closure, she could only be brought to the
nearby government hospital where service is wanting. During that same weekend
somebody died there because of lack of attention. After the crisis Fuad got an
ear problem; another family member almost broke his leg, while several of
Fuad's grandchildren had fever. I think that many accidents today are related
not only to the poverty or the curfews and closures, but also to
absent-mindedness. People forget little things; for instance, whether they have
paid the taxi driver, or the day of the week. Never did I hear so often the
phrase "I forgot to tell you what I wanted to say." In normal
circumstances, the day is divided in clear parts marked by for instance
breakfast, lunch and dinner. But in our circumstances, what marks the day is
whether the curfew is on or off, and because that is unpredictable it is as if
you loose those normal points of orientation that are so important in
organizing and memorizing your life. I have said it more than once, but it
gives the feeling as if an invisible person is performing an experiment upon a
helpless patient who gradually looses control over life.
'The people are
tamed," said Mary a few days ago. She begged the Israelis to rather make
their grip over the borders of the town tighter instead of continuing the
curfew – everything better than that. The more the walls close in, the smaller
the desires. Like a prisoner who begs the guard for smaller and smaller
favours. The other day a youth with a philosophical bend, 'Ala'a, suggested
"to publicly declare our non-existence."
Yet today Mary
says "enough is enough." We talk about a petition that the Institute
is organizing in protest of the semi-permanent curfews. Getting a voice out may
create positive energy, in the same way as keeping up with one's work. Elias
and Fuad both have an optimistic mentality and want to work whatever the
circumstances. That likely helps them to maintain their health.
*
* *
Meanwhile, the
doctor congratulates us with the health of Tamer and Jara. The more difficult
the circumstances, the bigger Tamer's smile. Mary calls him "Abu
Hafs." Abu is father and yuhfus is related to the verb
"move." Last weekend Jara and I went to the zoo in Jerusalem. She
likes the place a lot but she is now more aware that it is an Israeli place. So
she sometimes clang to my leg in front of all those people speaking Hebrew. On
the way back, we passed the checkpoint where the soldier on duty had positioned
himself on a 50-cm high bench, apparently because he wanted to tower over those
he checked. Jara looked upwards in surprise. At home we comply to her wish to
maintain the Christmas tree even though the three Christmas feasts are over
now. After all, we live beyond normal time anyway. Jara and I both keep up the
spirit by jointly singing old Dutch songs, "Het land van Maas en
Waal" of Boudewijn de Groot, and "We zijn met Catootje naar de botermarkt
gegaan" van Wim Sonneveld – both cheerful nonsense songs. While Jara is
jumping on the bed, Tamer is deeply concentrated on rhythmically beating the
keys of the electronic piano, his new favorite. Mary takes him up and tightly
embraces him, calling out: Ya habibi! Ya amer! [Oh dearest, oh moon!]
Week
of Prayer for Christian Unity 2003
Jerusalem, January 19-26
Theme : « We have this treasure
in clay jars »
(2 Corinthians
4: 4-18)
The unity of Christians needs to be the paradigm for the unity of humankind. Christians possess a “treasury in clay jars” ( 2 Cor. 4:7) which is the glory of Jesus Christ the Lord, namely his victory over sin, death, persecution and hatred. We carry this treasure within the fragility of our human existence so that it becomes clear that this gift has its origin in God and is not of our own making. God invites us to witness to him through our human weakness.
The body of Christ is undivided and for this reason we must overcome the
divisions among Christians that are a counter-witness to this truth. We
recognize that the barriers are great and that our own intellectual and
physical force is not enough to heal our sins of division. The unity of the
Church must be brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, so
that each step toward unity is seen as God drawing us nearer to his Kingdom.
The
unity of all those who believe in Christ is made visible when Christians truly
take up their task in the world in which they all living, when together they
speak out against all that destroys the dignity of the human person and pray
and act together in favour of true peace.
programme
Sunday,
Jan. 19 Anglican
Cathedral of St George 5.00
p.m.
Nablus Road, 20
Monday, Jan. 20 St
Saviour’s Latin Parish Church 5.00
p.m.
Old City, near New Gate
Tuesday, Jan. 21 Lutheran
Church of the Redeemer 5.00
p.m.
Old City, near Holy Sepulchre
Wednesday, Jan. 22 Armenian
Cathedral of St James 5.00
p.m.
Old City, Armenian Quarter
Thursday, Jan. 23 Upper
Room, Cenacle, Mount Zion 4.00
p.m.
Closing prayer in the Chapel of the Holy
Spirit
Friday, Jan. 24 St
Mark’s Church, Syrian Orthodox 5.00
p.m.
Old City, near Jaffa Gate
Saturday, Jan. 25 Ethiopian
Orthodox Church 5.00
p.m.
West Jerusalem, off Prophets’ Street
Sunday, Jan. 26 Greek
Catholic Church of Annunciation 5.00
p.m.
Old City, near Jaffa Gate
The Situation and Needs of the General
Population
Presented To:
Meeting of Bishops’ Conference Presidents
With Assembly of Catholic
Ordinaries of the Holy Land
Jerusalem, 14 January 2003
Presented by: Claudette Habesch
President, Caritas MONA - Vice
President, Caritas Internationalis
The situation in Palestine today is not
simply a result of the uprising that started in September 2000, but rather a
culmination of events, lost opportunities, and injustices spanning over half a
century. These events can be
briefly summarized as follows:
1-
In 1948,
the state of Israel was created on 78% of Palestine. Whole cities and villages were evacuated of their
Palestinian inhabitants, forcing them in the diaspora. Many today still live in refugee camps
awaiting a solution.
2-
In 1967,
the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip started
after the 6-days war. Occupation, in itself, is a violation of the Fourth
Geneva Convention ratified by many democratic countries including Israel. The
tools of implementing this occupation are all in direct violation of the
Convention and thus a violation of human rights. This includes the displacement and dispossession of the
Palestinian people, continuous confiscation of land for the purpose of building
settlements, and the control of the natural resources of the occupied land,
such as water. It also means mass
deportation of political activists, collective punishment, imprisonment,
administrative detentions without trial or charges being brought against
detainees, restriction of movement of people and goods, and robbing a people
that is indigenous to this land and part of this land its right to freedom and
statehood.
3-
The failure
of the Declaration of Principles followed by the Oslo Accords and other steps
in the so-called peace process to bring stability and reconciliation. The average Palestinian has not felt
the fruits and benefits of what was expected or hoped for, as he continues to
live under occupation and oppression.
4-
The
continuation of settlement building on confiscated Palestinian land encircling
Palestinian villages and cities fragmenting the geographical area, and
seriously restricting movement.
This is further compounded by the permanent roadblocks, and checkpoints,
and the isolation of the Gaza Strip from the rest of the West Bank. All this adds to the daily hardships
and difficulties of the Palestinians.
5-
Key issues
that are at the core of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remain unresolved,
namely the question of Jerusalem, the issue of refugees, and Israeli
settlements.
6-
The failure
of the United Nations to implement UN Resolutions that address the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
7-
The
inability and failure of the Palestinian National Authority to run Palestinian
affairs efficiently to respond to the needs of the Palestinian civic society.
All of the above led to a complete
breakdown in peace talks and negotiations, and the start of the second Intifada. But what makes matter worse is that the
system did not allow for a healthy Palestinian opposition or a moderate core to
have a say or influence decision makers.
But rather, there was a creation of a suitable milieu for the extremist
camp, which promised results by means other than political and peace
negotiations. As the extremist
camp grew strong among the Palestinians, so did it among the Israelis, claiming
many innocent lives on both sides.
Palestinians are no longer safe in their own homes and refugee camps, as
much as Israelis are no longer safe on their buses, in their streets and shops.
Israel’s response to curb the activities
of the Intifada and to ensure its security is brutal and results in the
escalation of the current situation.
Israel resorted to war-like measures using disproportioned and excessive
force against Palestinians:
Indiscriminate killings (1918 deaths of which 19% were under the age of
17), injuries (41,000 injured, while 2,500 are left with permanent
disabilities), home demolishing and shelling (720 homes completely destroyed,
and 11,553 homes damaged), arbitrary execution of Palestinian activists (185
Palestinians) rather than imprisonment and a fair trial, and detentions and
arrests (6,000 are currently imprisoned of whom 1,700 are under administrative
detention and 350 are children).
Over 120 permanent roadblocks and
checkpoints, in addition to the temporary ones, are used to impose a crippling
and strangulating siege dividing and fragmenting the West Bank in 300 separate
clusters, and the Gaza Strip in 3 different zones. Continuous reoccupation and
incursions by the Israeli army and long curfews left the Palestinian society in
shambles, unable to fend for itself or even provide for its basic needs causing
a humanitarian crisis not witnessed since the war of 1967.
These measures affect every aspect of
Palestinian life and society.
Economically: The backbone of society and development, the economic sector
has collapsed. Local and direct
foreign investments in several fields, such as tourism, construction,
agriculture, telecommunication, utilities and industry, have dried up
especially that the return on investments have been in the negative in most
sectors. All the above are labor
intensive but with little or no growth, many were forced to cut down on the
number of employees pushing unemployment rates to unprecedented figures. This
is coupled by the closing of the borders between Palestine and Israel and
barring in excess of 200,000 Palestinian laborers to seek jobs in Israel.
GNP has dropped by 51%, while
unemployment in Gaza has risen to 67% and 48% in the West Bank. 75% of the Palestinian population lives
under the poverty line (less than US$2 per day). Daily domestic losses are estimated between US$6 – 8.6 million
not including the losses of foreign income from pilgrimages and tourism.
According to the World Bank report in
March 2002, it estimates that it will take a minimum of two years for the
economy to return to pre-Intifada per capita income when the conflict ends and
a solution is reached.
The annual report (October 2002) of
UNCTAD’s assistance to the Palestinian people states that the purchasing power
of Palestinian families has been depleted, making them dependent on emergency
relief and support to meet their basic needs.
Needless
to say, the Palestinian National Authority has huge budget deficits and is
almost totally dependent on donor countries to cover its expenses. This also means that the Authority does
not have the required funds to develop various vital sectors such as health,
education and infrastructure. One
has to wonder how are we supposed to build a democratic civic society.
Educationally: Not only our education system is
underdeveloped and teachers are underpaid, education suffered severely during
the last two years. According to
the Ministry of Education, 850 schools were temporarily closed, 9 were
vandalized, while 8 others were turned into military barracks, 11 were totally
destroyed, and 185 more were shelled.
In addition, 132 students were killed and 2,500 were injured on their
way to or from school, and 1135 school days were lost due to closures and
curfews.
Student
and teachers alike undergo a lot of hardships to reach their schools or
universities. On many days, rain
or shine, they are forced to walk between mountains, valleys and dirt roads to
avoid checkpoints. What used to
take a 20 to 30 minute ride, now takes a two to three hour walk. Aside from exhaustion, students face
many psychological problems. They
are afraid to be away from home and not be able to return due to an incursion,
or they worry how their parents will come up with the tuition before report
cards are distributed.
Understandably, students’ scholastic achievement has dropped
considerably.
Medically: The Palestinian Health System
including hospitals is also underdeveloped. Many services and specialization are not available in
hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza.
Furthermore patients from villages and remote areas are not able to
reach city centers to receive health care, causing severe complications and in
many cases death (a reported 76 cases).
Many pregnant women were denied access through checkpoints to reach
maternity hospitals, forcing some to deliver on side roads increasing infant
mortality rates. Caritas
Jerusalem, which runs two health centers in villages in the Ramallah district
had to expand its services to answer to basic medical emergency needs such as
minor operations and delivery.
These centers not only serve the population of those villages but also
the surrounding areas.
Patients
who are in need of specialized treatment need to come to Jerusalem. Not only there is the problem of
crossing checkpoints with or without permits, they have the additional burden
of raising money as no health insurance covers these medical bills.
To
further burden the medical system, there have been systematic attacks on
hospitals, medical personnel and ambulances. Allow me to share with you some of these disturbing figures: more than seven hospitals were attacked
or shelled, some more than once.
15 people including a German doctor, nurses, ambulance drivers were
killed while on duty. 180 PRCS
(Palestinian Red Crescent Society) emergency medical technicians were injured
and 95 Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees aid workers were also
injured. 25 PRCS ambulances were
completely destroyed, while 197 were attacked by live ammunition, and rubber
bullets. Denial of access to PRCS ambulances at road blocks were reported in
432 different incidents, while 70 emergency personnel were arrested during the
Israeli invasion of Palestinian cities in March 2002.
Religiously: Palestinian Moslems and Christians are
not allowed to visit and pray in Holy shrines around the country. For example Moslems from the West Bank
and Gaza can not pray in Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest shrine
in Islam due to the siege and lack of permits to allow Palestinians in
Jerusalem or Israel. For the same
reason, Palestinian Christians are not allowed to enter Jerusalem, Bethlehem or
Nazareth to partake in the religious ceremonies. Who would have imagined that the town of Bethlehem, the town
from which the message of peace illuminated the hearts of many, more than to
thousand years ago, lies under a military siege and curfew forbidding
Palestinian Christians and even pilgrims, to pay homage to the Prince of Peace.
Socially: Social life has practically come to an
end. Weddings and other social
functions are decided in regards to when curfews are lifted. Unfortunately, funerals can’t be
planned as such. Many were laid to
rest without the final farewell of family members and friends.
Families
stay in touch over the phone and only make an effort to meet during the holiday
season. My daughter and her
family, who live within the boundaries of Jerusalem, invited the whole family
for Christmas Eve. But since two
checkpoints separate us and one closes at 9:00pm, our eve started at 2:00pm and
ended at 8:00pm, though we live in the same city.
Humanitarian
agencies are responding to their best of ability to this humanitarian
crisis. Food distribution
programs, job creation initiatives, medical care, tuition payment, covering
basic living expenses such as utilities and rent, distribution of schoolbags
and clothes, hygienic products, blankets and fuel to shield of the cold of
winter, reconstruction of damaged homes are but a few the initiatives we are
involved in. No matter how big our
response is, the crisis will pertain as long as the political problem and
conflict persists. This
humanitarian crisis is a direct result of the current political situation and
instability, due to occupation.
In
his Christmas Message of 2002, HB Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,
makes an appeal: “to put an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land,
which is the source of all evils and all obstacles accumulated in the hearts of
the leaders and the peoples in front of peace”. He says that what is not possible is: “to ask for
security on one side, while the other is being oppressed, to have one people
occupying when the other is under occupation. This is really impossible. But with equal justice for both sides,
when the Israeli lives on his land and state, and the Palestinian also has his
land and state, then living together will be possible”.
Condemnations
and appeals and calls for justice and peace have been forthcoming. The UN General Assembly, the UN Human
Rights Commission, the UN Security Council, and 114 signatories to the Fourth
Geneva Convention among others, all issued declarations, and resolutions to
condemn Israel for excessive and disproportionate use of force, and to demand
Israel to cease all obstacles to the work of humanitarian organizations, as
well as to appeal to Israel to withdraw its troops.
Palestinians
were also condemned for the bombings in Israel that claimed the lives of
innocent people, and the international community appealed to them for
self-restraint.
But
the circle of violence continues leaving physical, emotional, economic, and
spiritual scars that will take long to heal.
We,
as Palestinians, have to invest in peace and work towards it, hoping that there
are enough people committed to change.
We hope to find a similar counterpart among the Israelis. This will help strengthen the voice of
the moderate camp on both sides, the only camp that can become true partners in
peace.
As
Palestinian Christians, we are also concerned with the emigration of our
communities. If we are really
going to turn the tide of emigration from the Holy Land, we need to do more
than provide social justice programming.
It is essential for the Church be involved in schooling programming
promoting the Christian heritage and the sense of belonging in the Holy Land,
job creation, housing projects, and other such “safety net programming’. But if
truly want to live up to the aspiration of the Gospel, we need to find the
appropriate mechanism to link our programming efforts to policy action that
address the structures that causes injustice.
Thus,
the advocacy campaign of Caritas Internationalis hopes to bring a new awareness
to an age-old problem. It is the
pro-active policies of occupation that represents the principal threat to the
dignity and livelihood of average Palestinians. It is for this reason, that Caritas’ social justice programs
aims to compliment the efforts of our advocacy campaign which calls for the end
of the occupation, stop of violence, and lifting of the closure and siege.
But
alone we can’t achieve the required results. We appeal to the international
community and Churches around the world, and we appeal to governments to take a
bold stand beyond condemning and take firm action to help both the Palestinians
and Israelis. We ask to be treated
and respected like others when it comes to the implementation of resolutions
and that our cause be taken seriously as it is a just one. The deafening silence and inaction of
the international community in 1948 and again 1967 left a people without their
legitimate right to live and prosper in their own homeland. Our dignity, as Palestinians, does not
allow us to continue living under oppression and humiliation, and as
Christians, our values do not allow us to be bystanders to the senseless
violence and killings.
This
is the Holy Land to Jews, Christians and Moslems. For the sake of its holiness and for the sake of its people
who in their own way and prayer try to keep the words of God alive, we beseech
you to intervene.
References:
HB Michel
Sabbah, Christmas Message 2002, Latin Patriarchate, Jerusalem, 18
January 2002.
Sabella,
Bernard, Dr., Situation in The Palestinian Territories, DSPR/MECC,
Jerusalem, 3 January 2003.
Conference Of
Major Superiors of Men, Leadership conference of Women Religious, Conference of
Religious in England and Wales, Reflection of The Inter-Conference
Delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Advent 2002.
The Palestine
Monitor, The Voice of Civil Society, Palestinian Intifada, September 28,
2000 – December 24, 2002.
B’Tselem,
Illusions of Restraint: Human Rights Violations During the Events in the
Occupied Territories, 20 September –2 December 2002.
UNECO, The
Impact on the Palestinian Economy of Confrontation, Border Closures and
Mobility Restrictions, October 200 – 30 September 2001.
Health,
Development, Information, and Policy Institute (HDIP)
|
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Thank you for your understanding & with best wishes from Jerusalem Fr. Raed Abusahlia |