The Palestinian portrait seems to have been successfully painted as "terrorist" to the point that the killing and targeting of doctors, ambulance drivers, human rights advocates, journalists, barbers and bakers doesn't make a ripple.
Read MoreThe afternoon before the Israeli invasion, he broke his knee. As a result, he had to wait six days for medical attention. His doctor, a Jerusalem resident with offices in Jerusalem and Ramallah, was refused entry to Ramallah at the checkpoint. The soldier said "we don’t want you operating on Palestinians with war wounds."
Read MoreBut there is good news for those who would fear that the enemy is seeking their destruction - Christ appeared to the disciples. Christ is with those who fear, even in the face of death. This is the peace of the Christian message, that God knows our hopes as well as our fears, for God lived among us as human. May our besieged friends know this comfort.
Read MoreDespite the Israeli rhetoric crying, "we are at war", the situation here is, to us, unbelievably normal. There is no comparison.
Read MoreWe heard from various friends today who had to leave their international assignments in Beirut, Tehran, and Chile. As one friend consoled us about the difficulty of leaving, she said, "It's agonizing. We left Beirut three times and came back twice."
Read MoreAs we rode along, we could see an Apache helicopter directly overhead. These have been used for targeted assassinations of Palestinian militants. Even though logic told us not to worry, our bodies told us otherwise.
Read MoreWe've packed bags for a few days and are trying to decide what to do next.
Read MoreIt's April Fool's Day, but we don't feel much like joking. The reports that are coming out of Ramallah and Bethlehem are increasingly disturbing.
Read MoreA day of resurrection surrounded by mortality...Happy Easter.
Read MoreThe Western churches, meanwhile, will be gathering soon to sit vigil by the tomb. In a land of such death, it only seems appropriate.
Read MoreAs Arafat's compound was under siege, word of another suicide bombing in Jerusalem came. It's really bad. Really bad. Good Friday indeed...
Read MoreAh, the bubbling cauldron of al-Quds...
Read MoreRemaining human can be difficult in the midst of all this.
Read MoreThe busses had a difficult time finding a road that was wide enough for them (winding through the middle of the village) and then, when they did, the rain made them muddy and impassible!
Read MoreMarthame headed into Jenin to take care of some business - the taxis were using yet another round-about road (even for here) - it turned out that the municipality of Qabatia is working on the road that we used to take. Since they can't get their hands on any asphalt (usually imported from Israel), they are using iron frames and pouring cement for the entire length of the road.
Read MoreWe could see flares being shot over the hill, which made us worry for our friends in Aqaba and Tubas.
Read MoreNews has come out recently that if cease-fire talks fail, Israel plans to hit the refugee camps again. What more can be done, other than ethnic-cleansing? The refugees have nowhere to flee, and even if they could, the spectre of 1948's "temporary" flight weighs on their minds. Fleeing is no longer an option. Staying and fighting is all that remains. These scars will stay a long time...
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They finally reached the other side of the destruction and the waiting taxis, just under the shadow of the most surreal sight in the Northern West Bank - a restaurant in an old airplane under the shadow of a ferris wheel.
Read MoreThis youth leader is particularly interested in working with the Christian kids of the West Bank to deepen their faith to understand better what it means to be a Christian in a predominantly Muslim Palestinian society.
Read MoreSince the churches in Zababdeh celebrate Christmas on the Western calendar, Easter (and Lent as a result) is celebrated on the Eastern calendar.
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