Kindgo
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Member # 2
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- July 2, 2003 - 2 Tamuz, 5763
Bells rang at the Church of the Nativity, as a convoy of Palestinian police rolled in to take control of Bethlehem. With sirens blaring, paramilitaries wearing red berets and camouflage fatigues rode proudly in the back of pickup trucks. It was the first time in quite a while that armed policemen were seen in the city where the Messiah was born. During the past nearly three years of conflict, Palestinian police were combatants and therefore targets for the Israeli army. Hence, they laid low and weren`t seen on the streets in uniform.
But few people were on hand to welcome the police, and the mood among Palestinians in the city was sober. “Nothing has changed,” a Bethlehem resident named Walid told “israel today” in Manger Square. “The Israelis are on the outskirts of town. We can`t go to Jerusalem. We can`t go to other West Bank towns. The Israelis can come back in whenever they want. So little has changed.”
But some people were more upbeat. “Actually, it`s a pleasure that we have the Israelis moving out,” said Michel Nasser who runs the “Peace Center” in the square. He thinks that American pressure will keep Israel from “reoccupying” Bethlehem. “They`ll probably be in and out fast in army raids, but not in to stay like they have stayed this time,” Nasser said.
The Palestinian Authority has promised Israel to keep the peace in Bethlehem and to deal with terrorists. "We will crack down on them,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. “I think the Palestinian people will accept this because they accepted the truce and are keen to keep it. So from now on anybody, any faction, any party which violates it --we will put them in prison."
President Bush has welcomed the Bethlehem pullout and other developments on the “roadmap,” telling reporters at the White House that he`s "happy with what we`ve seen so far.” But at they same time, he acknowledged that there are many obstacles to peace. “There are people there who still hate,” he said. “They hate Israel. They hate the idea of peace. They can`t stand the thought of a peaceful state existing side by side with Israel.” Bush pointed his finger at the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. "Hamas is not a peaceful organization, when they are willing to blow people up and destroy innocent lives," he said.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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