Can you hear the shelling?

Ramallah, 30 April 2002) ---- Almost 3am, and there is no point in trying to ignore the sounds and to try sleeping anymore. It is just too loud, too near. The heavy machine gunfire, the thuds of tank shelling. A few silences in between. Silences that hang in the air, expectant.

When the Israeli shelling of Ramallah started to be part of the 'normal' nightly sounds, we quickly learned about the differences in the noises. Two thuds, and it is relatively far. Loud, but nothing will hit our house. One loud thud and it is pretty near. I don't know how near. But it is near now.....

I think that a few hours ago I might have heard some of the Palestinian fire mixed in --the random and almost hollow clak, clak, clak!---- I don't hear any Palestinian fire anymore. Not for the past few hours.