-Caveat Lector- From http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4246813,00.html }}>Begin Israeli invasion provokes outrage Special report: Israel Suzanne Goldenberg in Beit Jala, West Bank Wednesday August 29, 2001 The Guardian Jack Straw yesterday delivered his most impassioned rebuke since becoming foreign secretary, when he joined the Americans in undiluted criticism of Israel's reoccupation of a swath of the Christian town of Beit Jala. Hours after Israeli tanks rolled into the Palestinian-controlled town along Virgin Mary Street early yesterday, Mr Straw said that the occupation of Beit Jala was "excessive and disproportionate". "I am deeply concerned by the escalation in violence in the occupied territories over the weekend and condemn the incursion," he said. The United States made clear in equally uncompro mising terms that its patience with Israeli tactics of assassinations and now military reoccupations of areas under Palestinian control was running thin. Using pointedly sterner language than in previous Washington statements, the state department spokesman Richard Boucher said the invasion of Beit Jala would only make matters worse. "The Israelis need to understand that incursions like this will not solve the security problems. We believe the Israelis should withdraw their forces from this area," he said. Mr Straw also chose his toughest language yet when he said that the "actions of the kind we have seen this weekend are excessive, disproportionate and threaten to stoke the cycle of violence." He added: "The use of fighter aircraft in residential areas, the destruction of Palestinian Authority security buildings by missiles, and assassinations of Palestinians can form no part of a meaningful strategy aimed at a chieving peace." The hardening of transatlantic attitudes towards the Israeli position came on a day when the Middle East crisis entered a phase of urban combat, with the staccato of gunfire from Palestinian fighters and the thud of heavy machine-guns from two tanks stationed outside the Lutheran church, echoing off the limestone walls of Beit Jala. Mr Straw spoke amid growing international anger at the Israeli army's seizure of an orphanage run by the church, which put 45 boys, between the ages of 10 and 16, and their four wardens squarely in the line of fire. "It is totally unacceptable to seize church premises and frighten orphans," the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the holy land, Bishop Munib Younan, said. "The international community should raise its voice on t heir behalf." The invasion of Beit Jala was ordered after Palestinian gunmen there opened fire on Monday night on the Jewish settlement of Gilo, which lies between the town and the southern edges of Jerusalem. Israeli officials said ye sterday that the reoccupation could continue for some time. "The army should remain there as long as it is needed to ensure there will not be shooting on Gilo," the Israeli justice minister, Meir Shitreet, said. He did not rule out the prospect that the army pres ence in Beit Jala would be permanent. "If there is no alternative, perhaps if that is what is needed, but I hope we will not arrive at that point," he said. "The Palesti nians must learn the lesson that what happened today in Beit Jala could happen tomorrow in other places." Aside from the orphanage, the Israeli troops took over an Orthodox community centre, an adjacent girls' school, and according to local Palestinians yesterday evening, a mosque. A Palestinian policeman was killed in heavy gunfire which accompanied the assault, and Palestinians said that more than 20 were injured. The streets were deserted, with Israeli jeeps on patrol, and soldiers opening fire to enforce an indefinite curfew declared at 7am. The townspeople of Beit Jala obeyed - bar a few scattered members of the Palestinian secu rity forces, eating olives and pita bread in an alley off the main square - and gunmen. They roamed the lanes of the town in groups of three or four. Some carried home-made pipe grenades. In the distance, clouds of smoke rose above the Aida refugee camp as Palestinian fighters exchanged gunfire with Israeli troops stationed at a Jewish shrine at the entrance to Bethlehem. United Nations officials said abou t 30 Israeli soldiers had briefly entered the Aida camp before dawn, before quickly withdrawing. The Israeli soldiers arrived at the gates of the Evangelical Lutheran Home, a shelter for orphans and poor Palestinian children, at 1.30am, rolling down Virgin Mary Street in three tanks. "The soldiers were pounding on the door, and tried to break it," said Khadr Musallem, the home's director. The interview was conducted over the telephone because he, and the children, were barred from leaving the building or receiving deliveries of food. "I went up to see what was wrong and they ordered me to open the door. They spoke in Arabic - but with a heavy accent - 'iftah, iftah, open up'." The Israelis swiftly took up gun positions on the roof of the orphanage and five other homes, laying down sandbags and camouflage netting. One of the trapped boys, Milad Ziadallah, 10, said: "We are playing and every time there is shooting we stop to listen. The teachers gave us toys, but we get bored and now we have put the toys away, and are watching the news on TV." The Israeli army said that the soldiers had only occupied buildings from which Palestinians had opened fire on Gilo. But Bishop Younan said: "We want to make it clear that no shooting has taken place, neither yesterday no r from the past, from our church buildings in Beit Jala." The soldiers did not enter the orphanage, but they demanded the key to the adjacent Lutheran church, whose modern spire dominates the centre of Beit Jala. When Mr Musallem refused, saying he could not hand over church property, he said the soldiers levelled their guns towards him and took the key by force. At an Israeli army briefing yesterday, the commander in the West Bank, Brigadier General Gershon Yitzhak, said: "About the holy places we act sensitively, and we hope we will finish this operation with no damage to the ho ly places." However, Mr Musallem said the soldiers told him they knew there were children inside the orphanage. "They knew the kids could make a good human shield for them, and they could hide behind the kids," he said. The invasion of Beit Jala had been widely anticipated after fierce fighting overnight as Palestinians exploded in anger following Israel's assassination on Monday of one of the five most senior members of the Palestinian political leadership, the chief of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Ali Mustafa. He died working alone at his desk when two missiles flew in through the window of his office, on the first floor of a block of flats in a residential area. The PFLP enjoys a strong following in the Bethlehem area, whose people feel a kinship with the Marxist group because its founder, George Habash, is a Greek Orthodox Christian. Gunmen in the town yesterday said Mustafa's assassination meant the end of their ban on firing on Gilo, and the shooting at the settlement - considered illegal under international law - was the most intense since the star t of the intifada. One Gilo man was injured and Israel radio said that 31 flats were damaged. The Israeli army has invaded Palestinian-ruled territory in the West Bank and Gaza dozens of times since last April, with a regularity that has blunted international condemnation of actions that would once have been viewe d as extreme. Until yesterday, however, the army had ended each invasion in hours, withdrawing after its bulldozers had flattened homes and Palestinian security posts. In the southern Gaza town of Rafah overnight, bulldozers demolished 15 buildings before withdrawing. Related articles 28.08.2001: Leader's killing 'means open war' 27.08.2001: Israeli jets avenge raid on army by commandos 25.08.2001: Snipers return to Hebron hill after Israeli raid Interactive guide Where are the flashpoints of violence? The weblog Weblog special: the best reads on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Map The occupied territories Useful links Israel defence forces Government of Israel Ha'aretz Palestinian National Authority Palestinian ministry of information Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 End<{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. 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