| | (This article was taken from www.cpt.org)
If the Christmas story were to happen today, Mary and Joseph would have a hard time getting to Bethlehem....
Join with other churches in this effort to uplift the crisis facing Bethlehem and remember the Palestinians cut-off from traditional lands.
Since 2002, Israeli authorities have been building a separation barrier that snakes through the occupied Palestinian territories, in effect annexing valuable Palestinian land and water resources. To clear the way, Palestinians living near the security barrier often face the threat of home demolitions. According to Israeli human rights monitoring organization B'tselem, the separation barrier affects nearly half a million Palestinian residents, and currently the barrier separates almost twelve percent of the land on the Palestinian side of the 1967 Green Line from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. When completed, the barrier will be 780 km long (for more statistics click here.)
Today, the Israeli-built separation barrier surrounds Bethlehem, located in Palestine, on three sides and cuts off the city from Jerusalem only six miles away. The Israeli human rights group B'tselem writes about the separation barrier:
"In June 2002, the government of Israel decided to erect a physical barrier to separate Israel and the West Bank in order to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians into Israel. In most areas, the barrier is an electronic fence with dirt paths, barbed-wire fences, and trenches on both sides, at an average width of sixty meters. In some areas, a wall six to eight meters high has been erected in place of the barrier system . . . The construction of the barrier has brought new restrictions on movement for Palestinians living near the Barrier's route, in addition to the widespread restrictions that have been in place since the outbreak of the current intifada. Thousands of Palestinians have difficulty going to their fields and marketing their produce in other areas of the West Bank. Farming is a primary source of income in the Palestinian communities situated along the Barrier's route, an area that constitutes one of the most fertile areas in the West Bank. The harm to the farming sector is liable to have drastic economic effects on the residents--whose economic situation is already very difficult-- and drive many families into poverty." (To read the full article, go to the website and follow the link at the end of this article.)
Another good reason to go to the website is that there are a couple pictures and maps you can see. You can find them at
http://www.cpt.org/campaigns/no_way_to_the_inn/description.php
Christmas may be over, but there is a New Year around the corner. And because of Israel's Wall of Separation, things are looking worse and worse for the Palestinians in the year ahead. |
| | Posted 12/27/2007 11:49 AM - 61 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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