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News Scenes of brutality Scene 1
On that day the shelling of Beit Jala started at 5:00 p.m. and lasted till 3:.30 am the other day. Choppers, tanks and heavy machine guns participated in the Israeli attack, creating a very horrible situation, in the whole Bethlehem Area. “The ambulances and the Civil Defense trying to evacuate the injuries were faced by heavy fire from the Israeli forces” said Dr. Fischer’s wife”. She added “ then he decided to take his medicine case and go to help the injuries in our neighborhood. He did not return home” Nader Abu Amsha, the Director of the YMCA Rehab Program who lives in the neighborhood reported that there are still pieces from Dr. Fischer’s body scattered on the walls and the ground of that area. Dr. Fischer is married with a Palestinian woman from Beit Jala and has three children. He has been living in that town for the last 25 years serving the Palestinian citizens. He is known to be very dedicated and committed to the human cause. He died while trying to save the lives of human beings under shelling. Dr. Fischer was announced to be a martyr of humanity. His funeral that was attended by some ten thousand people and his body was lift by his colleagues from the Palestinian Union of Physicians . Scene 2
Mr. Jaraysah is a 78 years old grand father, from Beit Sahour. He has a big family of 100 sons, daughters and grand children. He is known as a social figure in Beit Sahour. On Sunday Nov 12, three incendiary bombs, fired from a tank, from a military camp 200 meters away hit his two- story house that became fully torched. When some YMCA staff visited the family to empower them, the next morning, they were in a very miserable situation. There were some smoke in some of the house corners. It was very warm and we could not stay in for more than five minutes. “ I spent my whole life working hard to raise my children properly and to build a beautiful house to stay for the rest of my life. I spent most of my life in a bad housing conditions,” said Mr. Jarayseh. He added “ it took me five years to build the house and within five minutes its destroyed its over! can you believe? Every thing was torched. Nothing was left, but the clothes we put on. “ I have even lost the only pictures I had for my father and uncle. I also lost the walking stick of my father he gave to me before death. Everything was burnt. Thank God no body is hurt, “ He concluded. Where and how shall we celebrate Christmas this year? One of his grandsons asked with bitterness.
Still, and even in such misery, you can have a cup of coffee when you visit this poor family, as they insist to offer the visitors something to drink. Scene 3
Scene 4 Noise and screaming at the entrance of Beit Jala Hospital. Hundreds of people are gathering waiting for the ambulances arriving to the Emergency Unit and asking for information from the receptionist. It’s again the Israeli fire shot at a gathering of 200 civilian in a mourning house in Beit Jala on Sun 12 Nov. The bullets and bombs hit twenty buildings and 15 vehicles, two of which were totally torched. 13 people were reportedly injured including a severe injury of a child of 11 years old.
Scene5 Albert Abu-ezghabreh a Palestinian citizen of Beit Jala, who currently lives in Panama was very anxious to arrive to his town and see his family and his beautiful castle. In the last 15 years, Albert, transferred some USD 700,000 to his family to build his a very big and beautiful old-fashioned house next to his parents’. The house, which was not yet finished, was an easy target for the Israeli artilleries sited in the Israeli settlement of Gilo located on the expropriated land Beit Jala. It is almost fully destroyed and Albert nice dreams became nightmares. All the local and foreign people visited the place felt so sad and sorry for this beautiful castle that was brutally shelled and damaged for no reason.
Scene 6 The ceiling is supported by civil engineers to avoid collapsing. The original columns and concrete beams are destroyed. One can note that the house is torched before entering the house. It’s a two story house of four apartments where three brothers families and their mother live. Matarweh family was known to be one of the poor families in Beit Sahour. The father died when his elder son was 9. The Mother worked for 20 years a house keeper in Israel to raise her six children and to educate them. They all get educated. Three of them are Physicians and worked very hard with the other brothers to build the house and enhance their living and housing conditions. Especially that they all get married and have children.
It took the Israeli soldiers one or two seconds to make a decision to put an end to he family’s dreams of a decent life.
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YMCA Hit in Clashes |
Babies Arrive During Conflicts |
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On Sunday 1 October at 3:30 p.m. bullets fired by Israeli soldiers hit the YMCA Rehabilitation Center in Beit Sahour in the building where persons with disabilities reside. One of the high velocity bullets penetrated a window where 17 beneficiaries gathered and burst into small fragments. It caused no physical injuries but created a state of fear and anxiety among innocent beneficiaries living in a civil organization. Consequently, the YMCA evacuated the building and sent the beneficiaries home. This aggressive act was repeated on Monday and more bullets hit the building. Numerous bullets were gathered from the surrounding area, which became one of the hottest areas in the Bethlehem district. The YMCA which is located close to the C zone that is still fully under Israeli control, became a target for the Israeli soldiers. This Israeli aggressive act came as part of the official Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people, who protested against Ariel Sharon provocative visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque last Thursday. The Palestinians were faced by extensive force and aggression from the Israeli party including the use of rockets and bombs fired by helicopters . So far 55 Palestinians have been killed and 2500 injured. According to Dr. Riad Za’noun, the Minister of Health, 56% of the injuries were among children and 68% were made by high velocity bullets. The YMCA Rehabilitation Program has responded to this situation by developing an emergency plan to pay visits to the injured at the hospitals and help those who have developed trauma and psychological disturbances and assess their needs for further rehabilitation. The YMCA was a target for the Israeli soldiers again, this time with high velocity bullets, that could have caused casualties among innocent people in a civil organization. We consider this act, and the whole Israeli reaction in the Palestinian Territories, a very dangerous, aggressive and brutal acts that left many casualties among the Palestinian people and will lead to more violence in the area. We do urge our partners, the human rights organizations and all the peace loving groups all over the world to use much pressure on the Israeli Government, to respect the international law and the Geneva conventions and to immediately stop these act of aggression. We think that the whole world community must feel responsible for taking measure against Israel who is violating all the international conventions and killing innocent people in cold blood. |
Under the current violent conditions, Ramadan , a staff member of the Rehabilitation Program was obliged to transfer his pregnant wife to a calmer area. Ramadan and his wife live close to the YMCA, in a house that is within the range of the machine guns of the Israeli military camp, which is only 400 meters away. The health condition of his wife was very crucial, as she had difficult pregnancy conditions. In the last two months she was advised by her doctor not to exert any herself, in order to protect the twin babies and her own health conditions. Ramadan’s house was hit by some bullets during the clashes, which endangered his life and his wife’s. He then decided to send his wife to Beit Ummar, near Hebron, where her family lives. On Thursday October 12, his wife was delivered the twins in a hospital near Hebron.. She was supposed to deliver in Bethlehem Maternity Hospital, but the ambulance bringing her was not allowed to enter the area, because on that day following the Israeli attacks, the Palestinian areas were placed under siege. Ramadan wants so badly to see his wife and infants, he has waited six years for this occasion, but he can not do it because of the military closure, whereby none can leave or enter.
N.B. Ramadan was imprisoned for ten years in the Israeli jails for political reasons. The Clashes Have Hit Close to Home
The current clashes have affected the YMCA in many ways. Staff members whose homes were attacked, have left their homes and moved in with family or friends. Our neighbors homes have received extensive damage. The YMCA itself has received some damage, and we have sent our resident rehab clients home until it is safe to return. The Rehabilitation Program has developed and activated an emergency response plan to provide counseling services to those most severely affected by the violence, especially traumatized children and their families. The Stories of Palestinian Children will bring fear to your heart and tears to your eyes. These pictures give only a glimpse at the results of the local attacks.
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