Damages to Palestinian Buildings In Bethlehem

January 8, 2001

Since mid-October, the Israel army has been shelling Beit Jala from tanks located in Gilo settlement and from attack helicopters. In the beginning, their shooting was in response to some Palestinian gunfire. But on every occasion they responded with far more powerful weapons into a densely populated civilian neighbourhood. These attacks brought months of fear and anxiety to the residents and damaged scores of homes with more than 300 buildings sustaining damages. The map below shows the location of the damaged houses. It is believed that at least ten buildings are beyond repair and will have to be demolished. Click here to see detailed map of shelled houses in Bethlehem area

By November 7th 2000, the National Emergency Committee of the Bethlehem District had recorded the following damages.

They estimated that 90% of the damage was caused by machine-gun shots and incendiary bombs. 10% of the damage was due to missiles from helicopter and heavy artillery.

Some details of damaged buildings from fieldwork on 16th December 2000.  

As can be seen from the map (see map), some specific areas have been more hard hit than others; in particular the northwestern parts of Beit Jala and the southern entrance to Beit Sahour. This has put pressure on the residents to move out of these areas into the ''safer'' central quarters in order to escape injury. However, such reactions set a dangerous precedent. The evacuation of those areas would make it easier for Israel to impinge on the adjacent lands and even claim them outright. Indeed, Israel has previously found it very difficult to implement its colonising policies in areas where there is a lot of Palestinian activity. Vacating these neighborhoods increases the possibility of Israeli incursion on the lands between Beit Jala and Gilo settlement or between Beit Sahour and the Israeli military base, making it easier for them to set up an outpost or to otherwise damage the land.), some specific areas have been more hard hit than others; in particular the northwestern parts of Beit Jala and the southern entrance to Beit Sahour. This has put pressure on the residents to move out of these areas into the ''safer'' central quarters in order to escape injury. However, such reactions set a dangerous precedent. The evacuation of those areas would make it easier for Israel to impinge on the adjacent lands and even claim them outright. Indeed, Israel has previously found it very difficult to implement its colonising policies in areas where there is a lot of Palestinian activity. Vacating these neighborhoods increases the possibility of Israeli incursion on the lands between Beit Jala and Gilo settlement or between Beit Sahour and the Israeli military base, making it easier for them to set up an outpost or to otherwise damage the land.

Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem