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Palestinian report
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Merrick
Merrick
2148 posts

Re: Palestinian report 7
Apr 09, 2002, 17:39
Wed, 03 Apr 2002 19:08:12

hey all,

thanks for the many messages of support i/we have had. just another update:

1) can people try to get out to the press that the 200 people in the nativity church are NOT all gunmen; the majority are families from the locality who initially took refuge in the mosque untilit was destroyed. many civilians have been killed in the locality and most houses are being denied medical access - i may have mentioned that a tank was crushed here earlier,and the idf are presently surrounding a medical team in beit sahour. there are people taking refuge in many of the other churches as well. THIS MISINFORMATION IS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS AND NEEDS TO BE COUNTERACTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

2) we are presently trying to arrange the presence of internationals in ambulances here tonight to try and protect the medical teams.

3) there is heavy gunfire close by us at the moment, and flares have been shot over azza refugee camp; this is usually a precursor to attack, but we think at the moment that it is the tall buildings (good sniper posts) that the israelis are after.there is fairly heavy gunfightsand periodic shelling from not far off.and bethlehem university - about 500 yds away - has been occupied, with a number of monks there being searched and assaulted and one having to intervene in order to prevent the shooting of a civilian in a nearby home.

4) there is also substantial tank movement in the direction of deheishe refugee camp.god help them, there are already a number of wounded there being denied access to medical care.

5) on a lighter note,spirits here in the IMC are up,since we had a food delivery and are aware that there is another one awaiting us from the british embassy (the dogfood was starting to look appealing, we were that low while the curfew was 24 hour. i'm also smoking like a chimney, except when we ran out...). they came to evacuate a number of foreign nationals, including kunle, who had been prevented from leaving for several days after the news of his father's death. for obvious reasons,some of the wounded internationals from the demo on monday also wanted to leave, although the worst injured, an australian womam with what the operating doctor believes was a direct gunshot wound to the stomach, cannot be moved at present. in the imc we are sleeping in shifts but still have electricity and therefore heat - it's bitter here - and we also have Indymedia Intifada, the rescued palestinian puppy, to cheer us up/pee on the floor. it's kind of surreal crawling round the kitchen floor to avoid sniper sights in order to prepare puppy food!

6) whilst my political principles militate against it, getting in touch with governments and stuff really is important at the moment, as it is really one of the few things that can save people here. demos etc aregreat as pressure too,but in the end we need the US government to follow the lead of the EU in demanding instant withdrawal. Belgium and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties,and we need this to happen from other regimes too.

love to you all.

sarah xxx
from the centre of bethlehem under attack...
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Re: Palestinian report 6 (Merrick)		 Replies:
Re: Palestinian report 8 (Merrick)
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