The Bethlehem Star hotel where I stayed before is taken over by the IDf and Internationals are not alowed in. I posed as a journalist and got in to talk to the staff. Its very bad here, totally stagnant. The number of deaths is lower but the Army are here continually since the invasion, theres almost constant curfew, and people are very depressed. I never saw that in Nablus, which was much worse. Here there is a permanent unrelenting presence. They have a big zeppelin balloon flying overhead with cameras surveying the church. They also have a huge crane which they use to lower speakers blaring noise into the Church area. They also attach a cage onto it and snipers fire into the church from there. At 1 am last night one of the people trapped inside went out to the toilet and was seriously wounded by a sniper. Today there was a huge funeral in Bethlehem. A man who was seriously wounded came out, was arrested and then his dead body was released by the IDf. People here are very angry. Not much aid is getting in but thats not what they want. They want . ..their town back and their people. So many people have said to me 'Where are the Christians and religious of the world?, why dont they care?' What is needed are some brave clergy. Its time for the religious community to go berserk about what is being done to the birth place of Jesus, otherwise all the churches should shut down in shame. Georgina, an English activist who has lived here for 6 months is very down and defeated today, she is usually very bright and determined, but feels there is nothing new to do that has not been tried. I saw yesterdays demo in Ramallah on TV last night, its scary how normal it has become for protestors and press to be shot at and wounded by stun grenades and bullets. I am staying in Aida camp again, in the medical clinic-cum-community centre, where I worked last time. I have been here one full cycle of the moon and it feels like its been 3 months. I'm glad to be here, catching up on news. Abdel the Doctor, who lives here has been separated from his family by the war. They live in Jerusalem. He showed me a horrible sight earlier. The IDF are building a huge wall around this camp. They are working on it 24 hours a day. It will surround Bethlehem and it will be have the only checkpoint coming into here. Basically this place will be a cage! Its a waiting game.
I will write more tomorrow, Mary.