We also checked in with a friend in Ramallah. Yesterday they were the lucky recipients of the house-to-house search sweepstakes. Fortunately, there was little to report - they and their kids were just a bit traumatized by the whole experience. Even without the violence and theft which has accompanied some searches, having soldiers and automatic weapons in your house doesn't instill calm.
Read MoreThere was a cursory search of all of our bags, accompanied by the somewhat apologetic and now-familiar phrase of "sorry, we have to do this - we're just following orders."
Read MorePeople are afraid. Everyone's trying to guess what'll happen next, and many are assuming that the Israelis will eventually do house-to-house searches in Zababdeh. In the afternoon, many families on the outskirts of town were relocating to stay with relatives in locations that are considered safer.
Read MoreEveryone here is afraid. Many men are staying awake at night and sleeping during the day to be vigilant in case the army enters.
Read MoreWe spent a great deal of time wondering about what it is exactly that we're doing here. There's no school in Zababdeh, so teaching there isn't an option. There's no telephone, so even if we decided to stay out of solidarity in the relative quiet of the village, we couldn't communicate with the outside world - something with which our parents would no doubt take issue. We can write, but feel like frustrated by the collective silence (or is it horror and thus silenced shock?) that the world seems to be expressing at the situation here.
Read MoreWe were able to rest today and get some emotional distance from the troubles, something that's long overdue. But politics is never far from anyone's mind here.
Read MoreThe right-wing radical nationalism and unfettered military assault of Israel and the desperate radical anger and violence of Palestine are colliding.
Read MoreThe Israelis report 100 dead people in the Camp; other reports vary from 200 to 500. Without press inside, there is no way to really know.
Read MoreThere's a lot of rhetoric about "terrorist infrastructure," but the targeting of civil infrastructure, human rights organizations, and medical personnel, as well as the reports of many, many civilian casualties calls all of that into question.
Read MoreWe fear the worst. We have had no contact with Nablus since yesterday, and the attacks on the Old City (where our closest friends there live) - and the resistance in it - have been fierce.
Read MoreThe 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.
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