IMC 10:30 am Report from Occupied Bethlehem

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday April 03, 2002 11:47 by blissett

IMC Palestine is back on-line

indymedia report from occupied bethlehem

report from 10:30AM deheishe camp, indymedia report

After being stuck inside the Ibdaa social center for the last 35 hours as nonstop warfare raged outside, me and someone else decided to step out and get some air, see how tight the curfew was, etc.

We went outside. It is grey and rainy but the air was nice, the "freedom" was nice, it was good to breathe in and feel the rain. We began to think, "Ah, this curfew might be lifted a little!" And we talked about getting cigarettes, going for a walk to take pictures.

Then we saw three journalists creeping up the road, taking pictures of the wreckage of the last few days of conflict. And our hopes rose even more! We said, "Look! People are moving and going up the street!" We started to move off of the porch, look up and down the street, wander about a little.

And then ... we heard the sharp crack of automatic gun fire ... someone (IDF) shooting at the journalists we saw moving up the street. The shooting continued and got louder. We couldn't see the journalists any more.

We came back inside right away, laughing to each other about the freedom we had experienced which we realized was more illusion than anything else. It was funny in a way.

Then the gunfire got a lot closer. There were shots which hit the door we had just come through, and then a window next to us broke as a bullet flew into it. That bullet broke the window, ricocheted off the wall, and blasted a large hole in the stairway.

So, on second thought. Maybe the curfew isn't lifted.

indymedia report from occupied bethlehem