Under Fire in Bethlehem: 'We Are Losing the Future'

Fierce clashes erupted in Bethlehem and other West Bank towns on Monday, as Israel escalated its attacks on Palestinian targets in retribution for last week's bomb attacks and shootings. TIME correspondent and Bethlehem resident Jamil Hamad phoned in this report: I have to say, I was a little scared when bombs began exploding a few meters away from me. I had gone to the refugee camp to report the story after an Israeli soldier was killed at the entrance to the town. Suddenly, the Israelis started shelling the refugee camp and the Palestinian Interior and Education ministry buildings. Everything around me was suddenly in flames.

A grandfather's mission

All this time, there were two helicopters hovering above. And the psychological impact of helicopters is very strong, now that they have been used in these rocket attacks on Palestinian activists. I have seen how people react in war situations when I have covered these things in Jordan and Syria. And I saw the same things here in Bethlehem today. People were hysterical, and I was trying very hard to calm down my grandchildren, who were afraid.

Most people in the West Bank and Gaza have never actually witnessed a war. Since 1967, there was no war here, except on TV where we saw the wars in Lebanon and Egypt. But not in the streets of of Bethlehem, Nablus and Gaza. Now, for the first time, people here are experiencing a real war — the shelling, the helicopters roaming the skies.

This time, it's personal

Fifteen minutes ago I went around the city. It was empty and quiet. Many refugee families ran away, afraid there would be shells again. The refugees are very vulnerable, because if a shell is fired at one house it will almost certainly cause casualties in the houses around.

The situation is going to get a lot worse. It's no longer simply about borders or political differences. It's becoming personal, about revenge. The moment an Israeli soldier was killed at the entrance to Bethlehem, the helicopters came and the shelling began. And you can bet that right now, the Islamic Jihad are plotting a terrible revenge for their man who was killed today in Gaza. Today there was also an attack in Jerusalem; a Palestinian hit an Israeli policewoman in the head with a metal object. This is not part of some strategy or plan; it's just an explosion of feeling.

Following the Irish example

Neither side understands the other's feelings. And that contributes to flaring up the situation. The more this carries on, the more the conflict becomes like the Irish one, where people are killed for no reason other than that they are either Palestinian or Israeli.

In the middle of this all, I read a statement by [Israeli foreign minister Shimon] Peres, telling an Arab paper that the best friend of the Palestinians is the Israeli government. I don't know who he thinks he's deluding. Anyone who thinks Palestinians will embrace this Israeli government as their best friends must be those who think of us as illiterate camel riders who can be told what to think. This is crazy.

And the worst is the impact on our children. I saw it as they began screaming when the shelling started. Usually, when I bring chocolate for my grandchildren, they jump on my shoulders. Or send me back to the store to get some when I don't bring it. Now, for the first time, when I offered them chocolate, I got a cold reaction. No hand was extended. They were simply afraid. This is culture of violence is killing the future. We are losing in this war not just human lives, but something even more important — we are losing the future. When you've lost the future, you are in trouble. And Palestinians and Israelis are in very deep trouble.