Since the bodies of the three missing settlers have been found dead, there have been protests in Jerusalem.
A crowd of hundreds of right-wing Israeli's took to the street chanting "Death to all Arabs". Police rescued at least eight Arab Israeli's who were seized by the mob during their procession, including one pulled from the McDonalds where he was working.
There was a revenge killing. A sixteen year old with no connection to the kidnapping. He was beaten and burnt alive. Here is a picture of him you can find on the web. His name was Mohammed Abu Khdeir.
His cousin, a fifteen-year-old Palestinian American who came for the funeral, is said to be the youth in this video, handcuffed and beaten by soldiers:
Tensions are high on both ends. When the autopsy report about Mohammed dying of burns went public, youth in Bethlehem were caught throwing stones at the wall. Soldiers responded by throwing canisters of tear gas at them.
As the children ran away, soldiers followed, cursing and threatening. When the children made it home, the soldiers left. They returned in a large vehicle with a pump on top. They began to spray the neighborhood with Skunk.
When we first arrived, and the settlers were first reported kidnapped, and the mass raids were taking place in Bethlehem, Keith and I heard confusing reports about the army spraying mosques with 'stinky water'. It's called Skunk. It is some sort of chemically concocted liquid that reeks. It takes days to wash off your body, and your clothes can hold the smell for years.
The army refuses to release the chemical make up of Skunk for security reasons, but the secrecy makes cleaning very difficult and dangerous. Some of the strongest cleaners have a bad chemical reaction with the spray, and results in people passing out. Trees hit with Skunk this past winter are said to have shriveled up and died.
So the boy's neighborhood was showered with the stuff. The force of the water broke windows. People's couches and beds are ruined. One story that upsets people is that the soldiers aimed for a dog, missing twice, and laughed and cheered when they finally hit it.
Our walk from our apartment to the office does not take us by this neighborhood, but we have heard reports from other interns. They live nearby, and have felt sick from all the tear gas used during the raids. Now, they say the entire neighborhood reeks of sewage and rotten meat.
They also report that the tear gas canisters have their manufacturers etched on the side: Jamestown Pennsylvania.
Keith and I struggle with response and responsibility.
A crowd of hundreds of right-wing Israeli's took to the street chanting "Death to all Arabs". Police rescued at least eight Arab Israeli's who were seized by the mob during their procession, including one pulled from the McDonalds where he was working.
There was a revenge killing. A sixteen year old with no connection to the kidnapping. He was beaten and burnt alive. Here is a picture of him you can find on the web. His name was Mohammed Abu Khdeir.
His cousin, a fifteen-year-old Palestinian American who came for the funeral, is said to be the youth in this video, handcuffed and beaten by soldiers:
Tensions are high on both ends. When the autopsy report about Mohammed dying of burns went public, youth in Bethlehem were caught throwing stones at the wall. Soldiers responded by throwing canisters of tear gas at them.
As the children ran away, soldiers followed, cursing and threatening. When the children made it home, the soldiers left. They returned in a large vehicle with a pump on top. They began to spray the neighborhood with Skunk.
When we first arrived, and the settlers were first reported kidnapped, and the mass raids were taking place in Bethlehem, Keith and I heard confusing reports about the army spraying mosques with 'stinky water'. It's called Skunk. It is some sort of chemically concocted liquid that reeks. It takes days to wash off your body, and your clothes can hold the smell for years.
The army refuses to release the chemical make up of Skunk for security reasons, but the secrecy makes cleaning very difficult and dangerous. Some of the strongest cleaners have a bad chemical reaction with the spray, and results in people passing out. Trees hit with Skunk this past winter are said to have shriveled up and died.
So the boy's neighborhood was showered with the stuff. The force of the water broke windows. People's couches and beds are ruined. One story that upsets people is that the soldiers aimed for a dog, missing twice, and laughed and cheered when they finally hit it.
Our walk from our apartment to the office does not take us by this neighborhood, but we have heard reports from other interns. They live nearby, and have felt sick from all the tear gas used during the raids. Now, they say the entire neighborhood reeks of sewage and rotten meat.
They also report that the tear gas canisters have their manufacturers etched on the side: Jamestown Pennsylvania.
Keith and I struggle with response and responsibility.
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