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Eyewitnesses in Bethlehem say Israeli military backhoes have
begun building the final section of the separation wall around
Rachel’s Tomb and the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque. This section of the
separation wall will effectively annex the buildings and the land
on which they stand to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.
The construction now underway began at Bethlehem’s northern
checkpoint and cuts through a historical junction between
Bethlehem and Jerusalem at Rachel’s Tomb. The construction site
has been declared a military zone and is under constant
surveillance by the Israeli army.
Eyewitnesses told PNN that one of the annexed buildings was
demolished and is now being rebuilt as a yeshiva, an institution
for the study of Jewish religious texts.
Both the Bethlehem municipality and local organizations have
protested the construction of this section of the separation
barrier in particular.
Municipality officials insist the wall is surrounding and
‘strangling’
Bethlehem, turning the city where Jesus was born into an isolated
prison.
Letters of protest have been sent to international institutions,
including the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and the
United Nations.
Bethlehem’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism, has
suffered greatly as a result of the separation barrier.
Bethlehem’s north end is known as the ‘artery’ of the city,
housing 4,000 residents, numerous churches and non-profit
organizations, one children’s hospital and over to 500 shops.
Many of the businesses and organizations in this area have closed
as a result of the wall and the restricted access into and out of
Bethlehem.
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