uprising began 17 months ago, BosNewsLife has learned. In a statement Bethlehem’s Bible College said it was forced to close down because of the fighting, that killed at least 39 Palestinians and 6 Israeli’s Friday.
"There has been more and more shooting locally, and it sounds much more serious than the usual AK-47 weapons," confirmed Alistair Sanders, a teacher of Bible College. Sanders said he has been awaken by gunfire during much of the week during which about 100 Palestinians and 35 Israelis were killed, including children.
"Helicopters have been hovering over the Bible College at night, and firing rockets at various targets in Bethlehem," reported Sanders who also saw "F16s (fighter planes) flying overhead." He said the Israelis are using "some kind of wire-guided rocket", and that the fighting and the presence of Israeli tanks forced his college to close down for several days.
ISRAEL DEFENDS ACTIONS
The Israeli Government has defended its actions, saying that Palestinian suicide bombers deliberately target civilians as part of their fight against Israel and for an independent state. But in an apparent policy change Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Friday, March 8, that any cease-fire talks with Palestinians will have to take place under fire. He no longer demanded seven days of calm before talks could resume.
It came after his apparent talks Friday, March 8, with United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, who has urged Israel to restrain itself. Palestinian officials said their leader, Yasser Arafat, spoke with U.S. Secretary of Powell the same day urging immediate U.S. intervention to stop the escalation of violence, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.
NEW ATTACKS CONTINUE
Despite the cease-fire plans, Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets continued Saturday, March 9, as well as missile strikes on Palestinian Authority buildings in Gaza City and the West Bank town of Nablus.
Earlier Friday, March 9, Israeli Forces arrested hundreds of alleged terrorists in the West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarm, in a further sign that peace will be a long term vision for the troubled region. "For the last three days there have been several large explosions close by, about three a day, that have shaken the windows and rattled the doors," explained Bethlehem Bible College teacher Sanders .
GHOST TOWN
"…I went out to see a building – or the remains of it – that had been bombed. There was very little left to indicate that it had ever been a human dwelling of any kind. A huge crater was filled with rubble, concrete and steel, and everything around was covered with a thick layer of cement dust," he said.
"Here was a chair, there was a mattress, a fire burned in one corner, but overall it looked like some lifeless alien moonscape." Sanders said he is "happy if the sun is shining and there are no tanks outside the college. Well, the tanks arrived… so school is cancelled and Bethlehem is a ghost town again."
