2005-12-14

Genevieve Cora Fraser

Bethlehem

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie... Israel has put in place the last concrete sections of the 26-foot high racist Apartheid Wall around the city of Bethlehem - just in time for Christmas - despite the ruling by the International Court of Justice at The Hague that it must be torn down.  

Today Bethlehem's 30,000 citizens are completely cut off from Jerusalem and the West Bank and the world.... except for the few hardy tourists that wait for hours before they are allowed in or out. The Wall is designed to economically strangle the city of Christ's birth. Its citizens must now endure what so many other walled cities, towns and villages in Palestine endure - a few hours per day when they are allowed in or out .. at gunpoint. Now with the enclosure complete, during times of collective punishment the gate may be locked as it is elsewhere in Palestine for days, weeks or a month or more. Fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks and IDF snipers will be free to terrorize the citizens as they do elsewhere - with no escape. In Palestine too many mothers give birth not in stables - but along road sides at checkpoints. Bethlehem under siege will now be subject to starvation, dehydration and disease.

Israel has absolute power of life and death over nearly 4 million Palestinians - from cradle to grave. Why? Because we pay Israel billions of tax dollars each year to fund the Occupation.