wfn.org | Sheer Terror Described In Ramallah Episcopal Church

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For additional information, contact:
Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal,
St. George's Anglican Cathedral
Jerusalem
Tel: 972.2.627.1670

"Citizens huddled together, terrified," Pastor says

JERUSALEM, April 5, 2002---Days and nights of "sheer terror" were described 
inside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Ramallah where Israeli tanks and 
armed soldiers have held the town under seige for more than a week.

Five families live inside St. Andrews Church compound including Pastor George 
Al-Kopti, who was recently appointed to look after the small congregation 
located on the main road in Ramallah. The oldest resident is an 82 year old 
crippled man, who recently was diagnosed with total kidney failure; the 
youngest is "Lana" a four years old girl.

Most of Ramallah and Al-Bireh where 120,000 people live were without 
electricity, water or telephones for days because Israeli tanks literally 
ploughed the roads damaging the infrastructure and knocked down electricity 
and telephone poles.

Following is the text of a message from inside the parish:

A message from St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Ramallah

It was Maundy Thursday according to the Gregorian calendar. Ramallah and the 
rest of the West Bank towns were not celebrating because of an ecumenical 
agreement in occupied Palestine to celebrate Easter according to the Eastern 
Orthodox calendar. 

The other reason why Palestinians were not celebrating Easter was the 
impending Israeli invasion of Palestinian territory. This time, it was 
expected, the Israelis would hit hard. They sure did.

St. Andrews Church and compound lie along the Ramallah main road. Israeli 
tanks and armored vehicles rumbled down the road shaking the ground.

The following nights and days were sheer terror. Tanks, shells, machine gun 
fire and Apache helicopter rockets showered the town in every direction. A 
curfew was imposed on the whole town. High buildings were occupied and 
Israeli snipers were stationed on rooftops to shoot at anything that moved. 
Ramallah turned into a battle-field, its citizens huddled together in their 
homes, terrified.

Five families live inside St. Andrews Church compound including Pastor George 
Al-Kopti, recently appointed to look after the small congregation in 
Ramallah. The oldest is an 82 year old crippled man, who recently was 
diagnosed with total kidney failure; the youngest is "Lana" a four years old 
girl.

For five days and nights there were house to house searches, breaking into 
offices, businesses and shops. Seven hundred people were arrested and taken 
into army camps for interrogation. Twenty five people were shot dead and 
buried in a mass grave without proper funerals. The wounded numbered in the 
hundreds and many were left to bleed to death because medical help was not 
allowed to reach them. Most of Ramallah and Al-Bireh where 120000 people live 
were without electricity, water or telephones for days because Israeli tanks 
literally ploughed the roads damaging the infrastructure and knocked down 
electricity and telephone poles.

On Monday April 2, the curfew was "supposedly" lifted for two and a half 
hours in the afternoon for people to stock on food supplies. "Kindy" a 
fourteen year old teenager living in the compound went out with his father to 
try and buy whatever food stuffs they could find in the few shops that were 
open. Shots were heard and "Kindy" ran, soon to feel a sharp pain in his 
right leg. Blood was pouring. He was shot in the calf of his right leg. His 
father pressed the wound while neighbors called an ambulance. It took about 
forty five minutes for an ambulance to arrive because of the high demand and 
because of the hindrances placed in their way by Israeli tanks blocking all 
the roads (Ambulances were stopped on their way to rescue injured people or 
take the dead bodies, the doctors and nurses were asked to take off their 
clothes and stand in the rain for a while). "Kindy" was treated and returned 
home after some three hours, grateful that his wound was one of the least 
serious, other people were not as lucky, they were killed.

Another family--who had taken refuge in the compound because their home was 
too close to President Arafat's headquarters--tried in vain to reach their 
home. Their neighborhood had been declared a closed military zone. 

When they tried to reason with the soldiers, they were faced with pointed 
guns and fingers ready at the trigger. "Juman," the ten year old girl was 
traumatized to see the soldier aim at her.

Into our sixth day of confinement, our food supplies are almost depleted, 
bread, milk, fresh vegetables and fruit are commodities we dream about. 

In addition, eyewitnesses saw soldiers damaging the gates of banks, offices 
stores jewelry stores, houses and steal other precious things. On the other 
hand soldiers tried to cause as much damage as they could: pavements, trees, 
streets, new buildings and cars were smashed to the ground.

To hide their brutal and savage actions the military command ordered the 
journalists, T.V. reporters to leave Ramallah and forbade the peace 
activists, he religious leaders of Jerusalem to enter Ramallah.    

We ask for your prayers for the end of this nightmare, which will not come to 
an end unless the Palestinian people achieve their freedom, their full human 
rights and independence.

-end-