Israeli security wall disrupts Palestinian farmers in northern town NEWS BRIEFS Jan-27-2004, Catholic News Service

FALAMYEH, West Bank (CNS) -- Firas Shahwan's family has sent his four younger siblings to college with money earned working three acres of land. Now 1.25 acres of the land lie buried underneath Israel's security barrier, which separates Shahwan from the remainder of the farm. The barrier also separates other village farmers from their land. The barrier, which in this area is made up of parallel electric and barbed-wire fences with a dirt road running between them, has gates through which Israeli military allow Palestinians to pass. On a sunny day in late January, Shahwan sat on his tractor, waiting with another dozen farmers for Israeli soldiers to open a gate so they could get to their land. The barrier also has separated Falamyeh farmland from its irrigation source, a well on the village's side of the fence. Some 36 other underground wells in the northern Qalqilyah district have been affected by the fence, said Abdullatif Khaled, 38, a senior groundwater hydrologist with the Palestinian Hydrology Group in nearby Jayous. In other areas underground pipes have been damaged by the construction of the fence, Khaled said.

ASIA/HOLY LAND - “NOT WALLS BUT BRIDGES”: BISHOPS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND 16 Jan 2004Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides)

Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) – “Not walls but bridges”, a quote from the Holy Father (Pope John Paul II 16 November 2003), was the title chosen for the declaration issued in Jerusalem by Catholic Bishops of Europe and the Americas after a four day visit to the Holy Land 12- 15 January.

Explaining the reason for their journey the Bishops say “we came here to demonstrate the solidarity of Catholics throughout the world with the Church of the Holy Land. For the third time in as many years, we have come in friendship for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, Christian, Jew and Muslim alike” .

“We have seen the devastating effect of the wall currently being built through the land and homes of Palestinian communities” the Bishops affirm, adding that the wall appears to be a permanent structure. The declaration continues: “We have had an experience of the frustration and humiliation undergone every day by Palestinians at checkpoints, which impede them from providing for their families, reaching hospital, getting to work, attending their studies and visiting their relatives.

The Bishops say they have heard “the desire for peace, justice and reconciliation among both Israelis and Palestinians.” But they also noted with great regret “the lack of political will not only in this region but in the international community to work for a peaceful settlement. We therefore call upon all our political leaders to respond to the desire for peace which the people of this Holy Land have deep in their hearts.”.

During the brief time in the Holy Land the bishops also saw many encouraging signs of peace: “Most hopeful of all, however, is the vitality and commitment of the Church of the Holy Land itself, including the fraternal relations between Christian leaders”, they said.

The Bishops said they deplore the fact that, despite visible efforts, some priests, seminarians, sisters, brothers, and lay personnel are being denied or are having difficulties in obtaining visas and residence permits to study and work in Israel and the Palestinian territories. “These constitute genuine impediments to the Churches’ capacity to carry out their mission at the service of the people of the Holy Land. This is especially regrettable given that the State of Israel and the Holy See have just marked ten years since the signing of their Fundamental Agreement.

The Bishops who signed the declaration included: Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville and President United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool and Vice-President Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, delegate, Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE); Bishop Reinhard Marx of Trier, German Bishops’ Conference; Bishop William Kenney, Auxiliary of Stockholm, Scandinavian Bishops’ Conference and Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community

(COMECE).(Fides Service 16/1/2004 lines 44 words 468)

ISRAELI LEADER HEARS BISHOPS' CONCERNS ABOUT SECURITY FENCE

U.S. Episcopate President Tells of Meeting With Moshe Katsav

JERUSALEM, JAN. 16, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Bishops of Europe and America had a "very frank" meeting with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, noting their concern about the security fence being built in the West Bank.

The Israeli president in turn described to the bishops "Israel's policy in response to events over the last three years and on the construction of the defense barrier to combat terrorism," explained Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. bishops' conference, who attended the meeting.

The meeting took place in the wake of the bishops' meeting in Bethlehem and Jerusalem this week.

Bishop Gregory told the Italian newspaper Avvenire: "We bishops answered by asking him to understand the negative repercussions of the settlements for dialogue and the problems that will result from the construction" of the barrier.

"These problems will not affect the radicals but rather the moderates who continue to seek a way to reach an agreement," he said in statements published today.

"The lives of many people will be destroyed by this wall that will separate families, boys from schools; it will impede direct access to services and work. And this will increase the frustration in a context that is already too influenced by this feeling," the American prelate said.

Bishop Gregory said that the next time he meets U.S. President George Bush he will tell him about "what I have seen."

"We are not politicians, or strategists, or administrators of NGOs," Bishop Gregory said when explaining the reasons for the prelates' meeting. "We are pastors of our people and in every situation we must help to keep hope alive, which is based on the principles of our faith."

The president of the U.S. episcopal conference summarized the conclusions he arrived at on this visit by quoting John Paul II: the "Holy Land needs bridges, not walls."

"People do not really know one another," Bishop Gregory said. "Young Palestinians have not had the opportunity to really speak with young Israelis, and vice versa. I think that if each one could experience the other's frustration, they would not accept growing up in a world in which they are strangers to their neighbors."

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SECURITY WALL CAUSING RIFTS, SAY EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN BISHOPS

Prelates Lament a Lack of Political Will in Holy Land and Abroad

JERUSALEM, JAN. 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Bishops from Europe and the Americas who gathered here have issued a strong statement of solidarity with the Churches of the Holy Land.

At one point during their four-day meeting, the 15 bishops said: "We have seen with the devastating effect of the security wall currently being built through the land and homes of Palestinian communities. This appears to be a permanent structure, dividing families, isolating them from their farmland and their livelihoods, and even cutting off religious institutions."

The statement, released today by the bishops at a press conference in the Old City of Jerusalem, continued: "We had an experience of the frustration and humiliation undergone every day by Palestinians at checkpoints, which impede them from providing for their families, reaching hospital, getting to work, attending their studies, and visiting their relatives."

"We deplore the fact that, despite visible effort, some priests, seminarians, sisters and brothers and lay personnel are being denied or having difficulties in obtaining visas and residence permits to study and work in Israel and the Palestinian territories," the statement added.

The bishops noted the victims on both sides of the Mideast struggle.

"We have seen the violence suffered by both communities," they said, "the attack against Israelis in Gaza and the collective punishment of Palestinian citizens. We express our condolences for the deaths that have occurred during our stay and affirm our opposition to all bloodshed."

"We have heard of the desire for peace, justice and reconciliation among both Israelis and Palestinians," they continued.

"We have also observed with great regret the lack of political will not only in this region but in the international community to work for a peaceful settlement," the prelates said. "We therefore call upon all our political leaders to respond to the desire for peace which the people of this Holy Land have deep in their hearts."

The bishops explained that, despite the ongoing problems, they had witnessed many signs of hope during their short stay in the Holy Land.

"Most hopeful of all, however, is the vitality and commitment of the Church of Holy Land itself, including the fraternal relations between Christian leaders," they said.

The bishops also highlighted the "small but notable increase in the number of pilgrims coming to Holy Places." They added: "We call on all our fellow believers to bear witness to the truth of the message addressed to the Christians of the Holy Land during these days: 'You are not alone.'"

The meeting, whose theme was "Universal Church in Solidarity with the Church of the Holy Land," was attended by the Catholic ordinaries of the Holy Land, presided over by Latin-rite Patriarch Michel Sabbah.

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European, North American bishops criticize Israeli security wall, NEWS BRIEFS, Jan-15-2004, By Catholic News Service

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Bishops from Europe and North America criticized Israel's construction of a "security wall" and condemned recent Palestinian terrorist attacks. The bishops said that the security wall "appears to be a permanent structure dividing families, isolating them from their farmland and their livelihoods and cutting off religious institutions. We express our condolences for the deaths that have occurred during our stay and affirm our opposition to bloodshed," they said in the statement issued Jan. 15 at the conclusion of their four-day meeting in the Holy Land. Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted that the U.S. bishops already had communicated their opposition to the wall to U.S. President George W. Bush. Auxiliary Bishop William Kenney of Stockholm, Sweden, a member of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community, and Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool, England, vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said they would report their concerns about the wall to their respective conferences.

Peace, agreements with Catholic Church fail to take off 6 January, 2004 ISRAEL - VATICAN, Bethlehem (AsiaNews)

The Epiphany is a feast of movement, mission and peace The feast marks the movement of the star of Bethlehem, the movement of the Magi. It marks the creation of peace between rich and poor, between the King and his manger. However on earth, where Jesus was born, this Epiphany is marked by a near immobility.

Certainly, as is tradition, Bethlehem received the official visit of the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Giovanni Battistelli OFM, who since Christmas Eve has visited the city and the cave of the Nativity. Today he even celebrated a pontifical High Mass at St. Catherine’s church, the Latin rite church adjacent to that of the Nativity (under Orthodox care).

In preparation for Orthodox Christmas – celebrated tomorrow – today marked the arrival of the Orthodox patriarch. Minor scuffles occurred between his body guards and civilians in the square.

There are few pilgrims in the city. There are difficulties reaching Bethlehem from Israel, especially for Israeli citizens and Palestinians from other areas. Yet pilgrims from abroad have all the means to reach Bethlehem. The destruction and aftermath of the events of the last three years are still noticeable in the city.

Peace

However it is peace which particularly seems to be at a standstill. Within Israel it is often discussed. Geneva’s instructions (the so-called “peace agreement”) have forced all to understand that peace is possible. All Israelis, in government and in the opposition, applaud or criticize it. But no one is indifferent to it. Yet, the impression is that all efforts have ceased. The general feeling is that no change is expected until the next American presidential elections in Nov. 2004.

The Wall

Another element of concern and discussion is the Wall dividing Israel and the occupied territories. The government is quite concerned about the hearings that will soon take place at the Hague International Court of Justice. The UN, in fact, has asked the Hague for its legal opinion on the Wall’s construction.

Minister of Justice, Joseph “Tommy” Lapide, pointed out to his government colleagues that Israel, if it wants to continue building a wall, must do so on the border between Israel and the occupied territories and not within the territories (as is occurring, taking possession of nearly 5% of these territories). According to Lapide, there is also the risk that Israel ends up like South Africa, stamped as an apartheid regime.

Some ministers criticized Lapide and his statements since, they say, they could be used by the Hague against Israel. The opposition, on the other hand, applauds him, but asks that he be consistent and quit the government.

Religious tax evaders?

On the ecclesial front, Israel’s government for months now has refused to participate in negotiations with the Holy See. It withdrew its delegation last Aug. 28 and it still hasn’t returned to the bargaining table, as was reported in the Israeli daily, the Ha’aretz.

Last Dec. 30 was the 10th anniversary of the Fundamental Agreement made between Israel and the Holy See. But the agreement is still only half way completed. It could receive real application above all to guarantee tax exemption to Church properties and grant them legal protection. However, the government’s decision to withdraw its efforts has caused such an agreement not to be substantially applied and to bear many problems.

Church property tax exemption has existed for centuries in the Holy Land, being the fruit of agreements between western powers and the Ottoman Empire. The UN’s resolution on Nov. 29 1947, which guaranteed the birth of Israel, confirmed these tax exemptions.

Currently, without a specific agreement on this issue, Christian communities, parishes and religious institutions could be incriminated for tax evasion. In fact, it sometimes happens that religious institutions are taken to court for tax evasion. The reason why they don’t pay is because they have never paid. They seem to be tax evaders only because for months now the Israeli government has withdrawn from negotiations aimed at such an agreement and reveals no signs of wanting to return. Printable page

The Manger in the Shadow of the Wall , Palestinian Christians faced another bleak Christmas, with the construction of an enormous Israeli "security barrier" choking off the traffic of pilgrims to Bethlehem. By Michael Hirst Jan. 01 (CWR)

Jan. 01 (CWR) - Good news stories are a rare phenomenon in the sordid realm of Middle East politics. Rolling inexorably into its fourth year, the Palestinian uprising, known locally as the al-Aqsa intifada, has seen economies ruined, cities wrecked, and 3,000 people killed. Whatever the “roadmap” may have looked like, suicide bombs and targeted assassinations and security fences and undying hatred have gradually churned the road into an impassable quagmire.

Residents of the West Bank town of Bethlehem are facing the prospect that the city might be amputated from nearby Jerusalem by Israel’s latest “security” venture: a 435-mile concrete and barbed wire construction snaking its way deep into occupied territory, built ostensibly to keep suicide bombers out of Israel. Unlike other Palestinian towns, which depend largely upon agriculture for their income, Bethlehem is almost totally dependent on tourism. In the last year, the town has welcomed only 60,000 visitors, as opposed to more than 1.3 million in a normal year. “The wall will worsen this situation,” the mayor of Bethlehem, Hanna Nasser, told CWR during Advent, “denying the physical co-existence of the Palestinian people.”

The burden goes beyond the confiscation of 15,000 dunums (roughly 4,000 acres) of land, the area required for the construction of the wall itself. There is also the physical isolation of Palestinians from their neighbors and sometimes their own lands. Residents in the area near Rachel’s Tomb will soon be living in a virtual ghetto, requiring military permits from the Israeli Defense Force even to gain access to the rest of Bethlehem. Although Nasser said Christmas celebrations would go on, “the spirit of Christmas will not be there. The joy will be absent, and there will be no smiles on the faces of the town’s children.”

Brother David Scarpa, a lecturer at Bethlehem University, drew parallels between the plight of the Holy Family and the plight of Bethlehem’s Christians today. “As we meditate on the Christmas story we feel for the anxiety of Joseph and his pregnant wife as they undertake this arduous journey in response to the dictate of the occupying Roman authority,” he said. “The Prince of Peace was born in this holy city in this Holy Land and is with us today as we Christians in Bethlehem live in anxiety and hope preparing to celebrate his birthday.”

Recalling that Mary and Joseph traveled through the Holy Land to Bethlehem, Brother David reflected that Israeli travel restrictions and barriers prevented many Christians from being able to travel to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas. “Jesus was born into a world in which the Roman Empire was the single superpower,” he added. “He and his parents suffered under a military occupation which was characterized by cruelty and provocative demonstrations of military might.” The Savior can be truly seen as the compassionate Messiah by Christians in the Holy Land today, Brother David believes, because “He knows from personal experience what it is like to live under occupation. We live in hope that the Prince of Peace may bless his birthplace with a peace that the world cannot give.”

THE IMPACT OF THE "FENCE"

In December the UN General Assembly held a special session to discuss the construction of Israel’s controversial barrier. At an earlier special session on the matter in October, the General Assembly had overwhelmingly adopted a resolution deeming its construction illegal under international law and calling for Israel to "stop and reverse" construction—advice which Israel chose to ignore. The resolution was passed by a vote of 144 to 4, with the United States, Israel, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands voting against it. On December 8 the General Assembly approved a resolution asking the International Court of Justice to consider its legality. Yosef Lapid—Israel's justice minister and head of the centrist Shinui party, the second-largest in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's ruling coalition—responded to the decision by saying that Israel should redraw the route of the barrier, because it was "too long, too expensive... and puts the whole world against us.”

Part wall, part fence, much of Israel’s barrier will comprise a concrete base with a 16-foot high wire-and-mesh fence. In some areas, the barrier will be a 25-foot high solid concrete wall, complete with watchtowers, rolls of razor wire, and a 12-foot deep ditch. To date about 80 miles of the barrier have been built, at a cost of around $3 million per mile.

Since it is being built inside the territory of the West Bank, rather than along the internationally recognized "Green Line" border, Palestinian land is being confiscated to build the barrier. While Israel claims that the fence is purely a security obstacle and not intended to define a future border, Palestinians argue the structure constitutes a land grab that will hem them in on 42 percent of the West Bank. It will annex the richest Palestinian agricultural land, including the aquifer system that provides more than half of the West Bank’s water resources. It will separate farmer from olive tree, tour operator from pilgrim, and student from classroom. The town of Qalqilya, for example, which lies within a tight loop in the wall, is cut off on three sides from the farms that supply its markets and the region's second-largest water sources in the region. Access to the 40,000-inhabitant town will be gained through a single Israeli checkpoint.

A December meeting of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) at Cadennabria in Italy concluded:

The route of the barrier discloses political motivations that do not address authentic security needs. The barrier dismembers Palestinian communities and will create a humanitarian disaster. The barrier as planned will be inhuman, ineffective, and might be counterproductive.

Last July, US President George Bush, on the podium with former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, said: "It is very difficult to develop confidence between the Palestinians and the Israelis... with a wall snaking through the West Bank." In September, the US raised objections to the proposed route of the fence, and to demonstrate its unhappiness Washington cut $290 million from loan guarantees intended to bail out Israel's ailing economy.

Meanwhile, in a report for the UN Commission on Human Rights, John Dugard, a South African law professor, warned that about 210,000 Palestinians living in the area between the wall and Israel would be cut off from social services, schools, and places of work. "This is likely to lead to a new generation of refugees or internally displaced people," he said.

SUBDUED CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AGAIN

Among these “internally displaced people” are residents of one Bethlehem neighborhood where the people are alarmed at Israeli plans to extend the barrier in order to protect Jewish pilgrims visiting the shrine of Rachel's Tomb on the edge of the West Bank town. Raanan Gissin, an aide to Prime Minister Sharon, said the barrier was being extended to ensure safe access for Jewish visitors to the shrine because Palestinians had failed to safeguard the religious site. Meanwhile, Hanna Nasser told CWR of the “disastrous effect” the wall would have in closing the single bottleneck entrance to Bethlehem, which will impede the access for the town’s visitors and pilgrims. “As tourism constitutes 65 percent of our citizens' revenue,” he added, “this construction will choke our town and deliver a fatal blow to its economy. Walls will never make for good neighbors. This is a mad project."

Colonel Jamal Salman of the Israeli Defense Force has assured local Palestinians that their homes and businesses will not be harmed. In reality, though, walls and barbed wire will imprison 4,000 residents of Bethlehem in a ghetto, and thousands of acres of agricultural land will be inaccessible to owners. About 500 citizens will need permission to enter or leave their own houses and lands. No visitors will be allowed. Jaad Issac, the head of a local group specializing in geographic and environmental research, has complained of "an Israeli grand plan to progressively drive out the population. People will be strangulated, not being able to freely reach Bethlehem and cut off from Jerusalem." Pointing out that 2,000 Palestinian residents from Bethlehem and its surrounding villages have left their homes since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in September 2000, he suggests the wall will only make matters worse, especially because the fence will constrict the single entrance, forming a bottleneck at the one point through which visitors and pilgrims must pass.

As Gerard Kaufman, an outspoken Jewish Member of Britain’s Parliament, has said: “All of this is happening allegedly to increase Israeli security. However, not only will holy sites be desecrated, but Bethlehem’s tourist trade and its agriculture, on which the city depends almost entirely for its livelihood, will be destroyed.”

In spite of these bleak predictions, Bethlehem’s Catholic leaders remain defiant, and approached the Christmas festivities in an upbeat mood. Father Ibrahim Faltas, headmaster of Bethlehem’s Holy Land School, joined Hanna Nasser in sending out a plea to Christmas visitors telling them not to be afraid to travel to the West Bank. “Invade the Holy Land for a few days at Christmas and let yourselves be won over by its cultural and human message,” they urged the Christians of the West. Continuing their plea with an appeal for international solidarity among fellow believers, they said:

In this way you will offer a concrete and constructive contribution towards peace worth much more than a thousand words. You will have the opportunity to demonstrate your solidarity with those in difficulty and to offer hope. You will express with facts your fraternal affection for the people of the Holy Land, and this will be for everyone an act of love and respect for the communities living here.

BUILD BRIDGES, NOT WALLS

The message from Bethlehem’s leaders recalled the words of Cardinal Carlo Mario Martini during an address to the international community earlier in December. “Rather than walls of cement or stones to divide,” he said, “it is better to build a bridge of people which, while guaranteeing security on both sides, allows the two communities to communicate and grow in mutual understanding in daily life.”

But in the current climate, the prospects for this “bridge of people” are not encouraging. It is unsurprising that pilgrims are staying away from the land of their Messiah’s birth, and that the indigenous Christians of the Holy Land should want to escape the ongoing cycle of violence. The implications of this increasing trend of emigration—outlined in this publication two years ago—are dire: Whereas a century ago Palestinian Christians represented 13 percent of the total population of the Holy Land, and were in the majority in the old cities of Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem, now, out of a total population of 8 million people in Israel and Palestine, there are 165,000 Christians—a mere 2 percent, and falling every year. Within little more than a generation, there may be no Christians left in the land of Christ.

Despite their dwindling numbers, though, Christians in the region still carry an influence that is much greater than their numerical representation would indicate. The Catholic Church alone operates more than 100 schools—with 63,000 students—a university in Bethlehem, 10 hospitals, 15 orphanages, and houses for the handicapped and underprivileged. And the Christians are driven by a fervent sense of vocation, as Mgsr. William Shomali, secretary of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, points out, “to remain, despite our small number, in the places where Jesus preached and founded the Church, and to be conciliators and peace-makers among Palestinians and Israelis.”

However, Msgr. Shomali highlights the difficulties inherent in the current crisis. Before the intifada began in September 2000, many Christians worked in the pilgrimage and tourism sectors. Since the outbreak of fighting, the number of visitors to the Holy Land has dropped drastically, leaving hotels empty, wares unsold, and many small businesses bankrupt. Unemployment and poverty have become rife. Furthermore, Msgr. Shomali adds, Christian families “have had their houses destroyed, and their olive trees and vineyards uprooted. Many Christians working in Israel have lost their jobs because their permits to travel were withdrawn.”

During curfews last year, the Latin Patriarchate—aided by donations from Christian charities in the US and Europe—distributed cash and food packages to assist families, paid for several thousand medical prescriptions for the poor, and created employment schemes for those who had lost their jobs as a result of the intifada. But it is no surprise that those who have the wherewithal to emigrate do so, and reports suggest that, as the violence continues to rage, local consulates have been helping more Christians to leave the war-ravaged country. The greater financial resources of Palestinian Christians living abroad, and their closer ties with the Western world, facilitate this escape.

To counter the effects of this emigration, leaders of all Christian denominations in the Holy Land—Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Anglicans, Armenians, Copts, Maronites, Lutherans, Syrians, Ethiopians—have jointly condemned the bloodshed and called for a restoration of negotiations. Their words may be having scant effect, but they are a reflection of the alarming state of affairs in the Holy Land for a Christian population among whose falling numbers there is increasing tendency toward frustration and despair.

In January 2004 a conference will be held in Jerusalem and Bethlehem bringing together Christian leaders from around the world to discuss Christian responses to the dilemma. Brother Vincent Malham, Bethlehem University’s president, believes the first step in halting the emigration of indigenous Christians must be fuller involvement of the international Church. Although demographic trends indicate that Palestinians will outnumber Israelis in the Holy Land in little more than a generation, Christians will not be a part of this statistic unless their leaders take a “dynamic, prophetic role” in the promotion of peace in the Holy Land. According to Brother Malham: “If Christians are to be encouraged to remain, they must be given hope that there is a future for their children, a country in which they can live normal lives, have education and employment opportunities, be allowed to travel freely and to live in dignity and respect.”

The American-born La Salle brother also believes that there needs to be genuine engagement from the international community—with the US in a leadership role. “Vested interests must be put aside and tough decisions made—with strategic sanctions if necessary—to encourage and facilitate a fair, just, and peaceful political negotiation,” he said.

PROSPECTS FOR PEACE

There are signs that this negotiation could be warmly received by Israelis and Palestinians alike. A new opinion poll commissioned by the James A. Baker III Insititute for Public Policy asked 600 Israelis and 600 Palestinians what they thought of a hypothetical 6-point proposal for a final peace settlement. More than half of both Israelis and Palestinians who were questioned said that they would support it. The hypothetical deal, based largely on the negotiations between Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Camp David in 2000, would create a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank and Gaza, with Israel retaining some Jewish settlements, but surrendering an equivalent area of its own land. Jerusalem would be divided along current ethnic lines, but serve as the capital of both states, with guaranteed access for all to the holy sites. Palestinian refugees would receive compensation and be allowed to settle in the new Palestinian state, but would forgo a “right of return” to Israel proper.

As well as the Camp David proposals, the questionnaire also takes references from two grassroots initiatives. The first, drawn up by the former Israeli security chief, Ami Ayalon, and Sari Nusseibeh, a Palestinian academic, has gained 120,000 Israeli and 65,000 Palestinian signatures, and is alleged to have the approval of UN secretary general Kofi Annan and Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy secretary of defense. The second, a more detailed plan sponsored by prominent Israeli and Palestinian peaceniks, is known as the Geneva Accord.

Unlike the "roadmap to peace," which aimed to create secure conditions under which a settlement could take place, the Geneva Accord would begin with a settlement, which would then lead theoretically to a peace accord. Its key compromises are over the right of return and the division of Jerusalem. By giving up their cherished "right of return" for the millions of refugees who left or were expelled during the wars in 1948 and 1967, and in return for recognizing the Israeli state, the Palestinians would get 97.5 percent of all the land occupied by Israel following the 1967 war. Most of the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza would be dismantled, but Israel would annex two big settlements south and east of Jerusalem, plus another 12 in East Jerusalem.

Jerusalem would have shared sovereignty and become the capital of two states, divided administratively but not physically. The city’s most heavily disputed site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) would be under Palestinian sovereignty, with access for all visitors guaranteed by an international force.

Both US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair have met with the accord’s two main authors—Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli justice minister, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, a former Palestinian information minister—to show their support for the initiative. Though the scheme has not gained the official approval of Ariel Sharon’s government or hard-line Palestinians, external pressures may be able eventually to break down this intransigence.

WHAT HOPE?

While discussions about even the prospect of future official peace talks are still faltering, however, the people "on the ground" will continue to suffer, and it is no surprise that such institutions as Bethlehem University—the only Catholic university in Palestine, founded by Pope Paul VI to maintain a Christian presence in the Holy Land—are struggling. In its 30-year history, no academic year has been finished on schedule, and the university has been closed a dozen times. With tuition fees held down to $1,000 per year (even though it costs $3,000 to educate a student), it is hard to see how this enormous educational service continues to survive. The completion of Israel’s security fence will make it even more difficult for students, many of whom come from Jerusalem and Hebron, to attend classes.

For students living inside Bethlehem, as for most Palestinians, Israel’s barrier is only the latest in a list of hurdles that make life increasingly intolerable. Brother Vincent Malham draws attention to the existing hardships: checkpoints, which can cause several-hour delays during what might otherwise be routine trips; reduced trade, with all Palestinian goods subject to Israeli tariffs; poverty, with unemployment (45 percent) five times higher and the annual per-capita income ($500) five times lower than in 2000.

These grievances have been echoed by political analysts, lawyers, and even many political leaders who are ordinarily sympathetic to the Israeli perspective: American Jews and Congressmen, Israeli air force pilots, and even Avraham Burg, a past speaker of the Knesset. These critics have all decried the current attitude of the Israeli regime to the Palestinian people. “These are voices I hear all the time,” says Brother Malham. “Some are voices of the discouraged and suffering; others of the concerned; still others of the courageous who dare to speak out. All are voices yearning for justice, for reconciliation, for an end to violence.”

Brother Malham does not place the blame for this violence squarely on Israel and its internationally reviled occupation and settlement policies. Palestinians, too, must “clean up their act” by ending corruption, reforming the government, and establishing a viable democracy, he concedes. Nor is he an apologist for suicide bombers; he condemns the “violence and corruption of young minds taught hatred.” Nevertheless, as a practical matter he asks: "When fear, humiliation, and terror bruise the Palestinian population, and when the closures imposed by the IDF starve the population, how can one think that the number of volunteers for suicide attacks is going to diminish?”

But Brother Malham remains optimistic: “When I meet people who are losing hope I tell them: ‘Go over, go under, go around, go through. But never give up.’” Epitomizing the unshakeable faith of those striving to keep Christianity alive in the Holy Land, he and his 11 La Salle confreres (eight American, two English, one Irish, and one Palestinian) oversaw the graduation of 425 students in 2003. For the current academic year 2,100 students are enrolled, including 600 entering freshmen. Their stoic resolve and determination suggests the future may not be so bleak for the area’s Christians. If Bethlehem University can both survive and develop in such a depressing time of conflict, imagine the possibilities in a time of peace!

[AUTHOR ID] Michael Hirst is a foreign news reporter for The Tablet in London. He specializes in coverage of the Middle East, where he has traveled regularly as a freelance reporter since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada.