Сообщения очевидцев

16.06.08 14 June 2008: Israeli troops invade Bethlehem

At about 1.30 pm, the mayor told us he had breaking news about an incident in Bethlehem; the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had entered the town. We got to Bethlehem at 6 pm and saw a bulldozer already on route 60. Upon entering Al...

13.06.08 Travel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

After a two-day placement in Jayyous, I started off back to Jerusalem at 11.30am on a Tuesday. We learned that today there was no "service" (a public vehicle for seven passengers) direct to Ramallah, so it was necessary to go to...

11.06.08 Orphans under threat in Hebron

Some 240 boys and girls aged 5-18 living in two orphanages run by the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron (ICS) may soon be homeless. The reason is an order issued by General Gadi Shamni, head of the military in the West Bank,...

27.05.08 From absurd to tragic - EAs reflect on their first week in Hebron

After just a little bit more than a week in Hebron, what has made the biggest impression on the team is the families we have met, and the stories that they have been willing to share with us. The two families presented below are...

21.05.08 Hadha Bayti - "This is my house"

My time working as a human rights observer for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme of the World Council of Churches is fast drawing to a close. As I get prepared to end my three-month term living and working in the West Bank...

19.05.08 Fear and loathing in Qalqiliya North

The pushing started at 05:00 this morning. Not half an hour after the terminal for entrance into Israel in the completely walled-in city of Qalqiliya opened, more than 500 Palestinians rushed the single turnstile gate. The women...

22.04.08 Two mothers – two countries – one story

Israel and Palestine - and a mother in each with the same dreams and concerns about her children. But these two cannot speak to each other and have no idea that the stories they are telling are almost alike. Each believes that...

21.04.08 Minors under military law

The Sharabati family has 6 children, of which two are boys: one of 13 and one of 14 years. They live in the H2 (area C) of the city of Hebron, directly beneath the Tel Rumeida settlement, which is the last of the settlements...

16.04.08 The Swedish Foreign Minister and the EAPPI Vest

Two Swedish Ecumenical Accompaniers had unprecedented access to their own foreign minister on his recent visit to the West Bank.

They also spoke to a top Swedish press officer – who complimented them on the EAPPI programme –...

14.04.08 Sderot - a second visit

It was like any other street in a small suburban town. The sun was shining and the gardens along the way were filled with flowering shrubs and plants. But this was not just any Israeli town. It was Sderot, the town, which, since...