Israel’s War of Attrition on a Christian Palestinian Town
Share
[aggregation-styles]
Haaretz
Haaretz
Around 50 people came out to demonstrate a week ago Sunday against the new Israeli outpost on the lands of Beit Jala, a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of the West Bank. The outpost is being built a few meters above the site where Israel’s High Court of Justice recently approved the razing of the Qassiyeh family’s restaurant and house.
The low number of protesters, one of them said, may indicate that the town’s people deem the protest a lost cause: They assume they can’t prevent the destruction of their gem of a landscape in the Al-Makhrour valley, virtually their only refuge from the claustrophobic urban enclave of the Bethlehem area.
Another possible reason for the low attendance is that more efforts have been invested lately in the attempts to solve the unreported crisis that followed the demolition. This has brought to the surface suspicion and hostility between Muslims and Christians, between original residents and refugees and between residents and the Palestinian Authority. It includes masked men, pepper spray, arson and talk about a “land-buyers’ mafia.” The crisis has revealed an exhausted community keeling under Israel’s looming construction plans.
The low number of protesters, one of them said, may indicate that the town’s people deem the protest a lost cause: They assume they can’t prevent the destruction of their gem of a landscape in the Al-Makhrour valley, virtually their only refuge from the claustrophobic urban enclave of the Bethlehem area.
Another possible reason for the low attendance is that more efforts have been invested lately in the attempts to solve the unreported crisis that followed the demolition. This has brought to the surface suspicion and hostility between Muslims and Christians, between original residents and refugees and between residents and the Palestinian Authority. It includes masked men, pepper spray, arson and talk about a “land-buyers’ mafia.” The crisis has revealed an exhausted community keeling under Israel’s looming construction plans.
By Amira Hass | 21 Sept 2019
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes
Latest /
18 hours ago
Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem
World /
18 hours ago
The Best Songs of 2025, So Far
Latest /
3 hours ago
Does Merced County Need an Independent Commission to Draw Board of Supervisors Districts?
Politics /
4 hours ago
Israel Had the Courage to Do What Needed to Be Done
Opinion /
4 hours ago
Vacant Fresno Restaurant Heavily Damaged in Early Morning Fire
Local /
17 hours ago
Visalia Police Make Arrest in Deadly Hit-and-Run
Crime /
17 hours ago
Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes
Latest /
18 hours ago
Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem
World /
18 hours ago
The Best Songs of 2025, So Far
Latest /
3 hours ago
Does Merced County Need an Independent Commission to Draw Board of Supervisors Districts?
Politics /
4 hours ago
Israel Had the Courage to Do What Needed to Be Done
Opinion /
4 hours ago
Vacant Fresno Restaurant Heavily Damaged in Early Morning Fire
Local /
17 hours ago
Visalia Police Make Arrest in Deadly Hit-and-Run
Crime /
17 hours ago
Fresno Shooting Leaves Man Dead Near Griffith and Hughes
Latest /
18 hours ago
Iran and Israel Say a New Wave of Iranian Missile Attacks Has Begun. Explosions Heard Over Jerusalem
World /
18 hours ago
Protests, Parades and Pride: One Week in June 2025 Is Drawing Stark American Fault Lines
WASHINGTON — On the first weekend: a vision of the nation built upon inclusivity and the tenets of liberalism — a conception of country that...
Latest /
46 minutes ago
Categories
Latest
Videos

Latest /
46 minutes ago
Protests, Parades and Pride: One Week in June 2025 Is Drawing Stark American Fault Lines

Crime /
54 minutes ago
Former State House Speaker, Husband Killed in Politically Targeted Shooting

Latest /
3 hours ago
The Best Songs of 2025, So Far

Politics /
4 hours ago
Does Merced County Need an Independent Commission to Draw Board of Supervisors Districts?

Opinion /
4 hours ago