Life Under Siege

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Last Thursday night Jihad Abu Ajour, a young woman living down the road from me, gave birth to her first child in her home in Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem. The Israeli Army was refusing to allow ambulances to approach the camp. Ms. Abu Ajour's baby was not breathing properly. Hours later an ambulance finally came to take the baby to the hospital, where he died soon after. Later, under the night curfew and the threat of snipers, the two grandfathers and the father sneaked out of the camp to the nearby cemetery to bury the baby.

In its quest to stop suicide bombings in Israel, the Israeli Army invaded Bethlehem last week and has placed the entire civilian population under siege. The people here are running short of water, food and milk for the young. Those lucky enough to have stored food before the invasion now sit in crowded rooms far away from windows exposed to gunfire. Those without food wait in desperation for the Red Cross to reach them with supplies. Armored personnel carriers and soldiers patrol the streets, and shots are fired in all directions. A safe corner in the house today can be a deathbed tomorrow.