“O, Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.....”

Bethlehem and Hebron, Occupied Palestinian Territories

Bethlehem is indeed still. It is still because many of its shops are closed and shuttered. It is still because tourists rarely visit now. It is still because it is slowly being interred behind an illegal concrete wall.

One part of the wall which now almost entirely surrounds Bethlehem.

July 9, 2004
International Court of Justice
“Israel....has the obligation to cease forthwith the works of construction of the wall being built by it in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem... Cessation of those violations [of its international obligations] entails in practice the dismantling forthwith of those parts of the structure....The Court finds further that Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned.”

For up-to-date information about the concrete wall contact United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian Territories www.ochaopt.org. Look for their map, West Bank Closures.

In an effort to promote tourism in Bethlehem, this message is on the concrete wall.......

It was all so much more peaceful in 1326 when Ibn Battuta visited.........