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A Major Palestinian Community Development Project Severely Damaged by 
Recent Israeli Aggression.

The Israeli recent aggression against the Palestinian Territories under the 
Palestinian National Authority has created major obstacles that hinder the 
activities of the Bethlehem 2000 Project, where several programs are facing 
a state of stagnation and in some cases a complete freeze.

  The Israeli Army not only responds with live ammunition to Palestinian 
citizens practicing their internationally recognized right of peaceful 
demonstration, but has also escalated its forms of aggression to the 
systematic shelling of Palestinian populated areas using tanks and military 
aircraft. Attacks have specifically targeted the cities of Beit Jala and 
Beit Sahour in the Governorate of Bethlehem. Holy sites have come under 
Israeli fire, such as the Shepherds Field in Beit Sahour, and the 
Franciscan Convent in Beit Jala. Some ancient buildings that constitute a 
part of the Palestinian cultural heritage have been targeted there as well.

In addition to the excessive use of force, Israel has imposed a series of 
punitive measures, the gravest of which is the closure of Palestinian 
areas. These closures have had a negative impact on the Palestinian social 
as well as economic conditions. Bethlehem, like all other Palestinian 
areas, is suffering from the impact of these Israeli measures. Bethlehem's 
tourism-based economy is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars daily, 
with the drastic decrease in the number of tourists visiting it during the 
last month. Israeli checkpoints posted on all major entries to the city, 
especially on the Bethlehem Jerusalem roads, strongly discourage the few 
tourists who still wish to visit the city. Consequently, the 
tourism-related businesses, such as the souvenir shops, the restaurants and 
the hotels are out of business.

The closures and the dangerous security conditions have not only obstructed 
the flow of tourists to Bethlehem and to the Palestinian Territories, but 
have hindered the movement of tens of thousands of Palestinians to and from 
their places of work. This has drastically slowed down the economic cycle 
of the Palestinian economy as a whole.

Major infrastructure programs implemented by the Bethlehem 2000 project 
have suffered from this situation, in terms of the high absence rate among 
workers at on-going projects, resulting in major delays in the completion 
of these works according to schedule and an increase in their financial 
burden. Other private-sector led construction projects in Bethlehem are 
suffering from similar conditions.

Other tourism related programs designed by the Bethlehem 2000 Project have 
come to a freeze as a result of this situation. A long list of activities, 
including conferences and celebrations, were scheduled for the last quarter 
of the year and towards the beginning of the Christmas season, with the aim 
of enhancing the attraction of Bethlehem as a tourist destination.  Several 
activities have already been either postponed or even cancelled, while 
uncertainty overshadows the fate of the rest.

The detrimental impact of the Israeli aggression on the Bethlehem 2000 
Project, that is a community development project, is an indication of the 
difficulties that all development efforts in the Palestinian Territories 
will continue to face so long as the Israeli occupation remains.

The Bethlehem 2000 Project, while condemning the Israeli practices on one 
hand, re-affirms its determination to continue its efforts to fulfil its 
mandate, by working with the Bethlehem community towards achieving 
sustainable development, through maintaining and continuing its different 
programs with the continuous support of the International Community.

Contact person: Jumana Abbas
Tel: 970-2-2742224
E-mail:jumana@bethlehem2000.org