Cold raining days

Well the rains may have stopped but the skies continue to be dark and damp and the winds are very cold. We've switched back to solar time and so the sun sets at 6pm. Coupled with the massive military presence in the Old City, the evenings become very quiet as everyone prefers to stay at home to keep warm and out of trouble.

The rains however continue to pour in the coastal cities and floods occur in the plains. Unfortunately the union of electric workers went on strike and till today some 5,000 homes remain without electricity. Newspapers are laughing at the PM, saying he can fight terrorists but he can't fight the union. And its not only the terrorists that the PM is unable to fight ... newspapers are also pointing out that extreme rightwing settlers are running the country and its internal policies while the PM provides excuses for their terrorist tactics: remember they burned to death the arab family, burned our churches ... and till today not one of the perpetrators has been caught, or charged.  http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.682565?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook

And dreadful news just broadcasted: the young arab lady killed pointblank by Israeli soldiers in Afula Central Bus Station, was not a terrorist nor intended to attack anyone. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.682928?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook

Soup and salad at HaSalatiah

Anyway the general violence seems to have moved geographically. These few days the attacks all occur near Bethlehem and Hebron. The tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah) in Hebron have always been a flashpoint for violence as both muslims and jews pray at the same spot.

Despite all this, I wanted to go out and eat something (tired of the frozen bread I bough last week). Aviary my friend was not working last week so we went to HaSalatiah to have a salad lunch. It was a massive serving and I had to share it with Aviram. He wanted instead an "orange vegetable soup" which in essence is a thick soup of pumpkins, carrots and sweet potatoes. It was a nice lunch, but the company was better. That took out some of the stress of living in this place.

More rain

Shawarma breakfast

Rain continued to fall today. While electricity has been restored in many parts of the country, still some 60,000 have no electricity. The powerful winds had knocked down electric poles or fallen trees had pulled down the wires. In the Old City, electric outages occur because the wires are underground ... but since there are many cisterns underground, when the water fills up, it touches the electrical wires and short-circuits occur. Till now even the Internet is not working. Dreadful.

The Torch Grill replaces Shualeh

But the dark skies and cold winds make it feel really that winter has finally arrived. This makes eating a warm meal such a great experience. This morning I had a swarm for breakfast at The Torch Grill Restaurant ... fancy name but it's actually renaming of the old Shualeh Restaurant in Salahaddin Street which once served the best shwarma in East Jerusalem. Don't know why the Shualeh closed since it was always crowded and its shwarma was very famous. I had beef roasted on a spit (shwarma) in pitta bread; with a spread of hummus, turkish salad (spice), pickles and amba (Iraqi sour sauce). Tasted really great ... but as usual I had cramps and diarrhea 15 mins after eating. But I still enjoyed it ... something warm on a very cold morning.

Terror attacks continued today ... but mostly in Hebron. Jerusalem is quiet and tourists are flocking back. Let's hope the rains will not dampen their trip.

Rain

Heavy rain today

This morning there was a very strong wind blowing through  the country. In Jerusalem it was like a typhoon. Very very strong and swept the City clean of all the rubbish collecting in the street corners. But along the coast like Tel Aviv it rained very hard so that streets were flooded, trees fell, electricity cut. One person died and another wounded. By afternoon Jerusalem also had rain. It wasn't too heavy but it was constant. All the grime from the streets were washed off. Unfortunately the gutters are not used to so much water, it's clogged up and dirty water is flooding the streets. Nevertheless it's good that it's raining. The forecast is more rain tomorrow too.

Thanks to Gigi's family, Sally, Alice Ko, Sr Frances, Agnes Chiu Lee, Auntie Yvonne, Rose Chiu, Angela, Auntie Chan, Teresa/Roger/Eugene/Shan Shan/Gerard, the pilgrimage group for all the donations and stuff. Received everything including scarf, food, books, medicine etc...

We had another series of attacks and counter attacks throughout the country especially in Gush Etzion near Bethlehem and Hebron area. Jerusalem remained quiet in the midst of heavy military presence. Tensions are less as young arab men are now allowed to enter the Al Aqsa Mosque. Shop keepers along El Wad street are not so happy though. They are being punished for not helping the victims of several stabbings that took place in front of their shops. They are not allowed to open their shops are a certain period of time

2 green ringnecked parakeets
eating fresh dates

Well it's getting very cold by now. Most of the autumn fruit are in their last stages. The dates growing in Palm Plaza (next to Damascus Gate) are heavy and maturing ... incredible sight. But a flock of wild indian ring-necked parakeets are eating them off, leaving bits and pieces scattered all over the plaza. And they make a lot of noise. The flock consists of some 12 - 16 parakeets and they nest in the huge eucalyptus trees in Mamilla park. Miss Bird is an albino version of them. Every morning the flock flies pass my room and make a lot of noise. Miss Bird and Buddy answer back and get very excited. Well I'm afraid I can't let them fly off with the flock because they're too domesticated. They'll die out in the wild, especially now that winter has set in. I think they're happier with me. They get terribly spoilt.

Weekend begins

The panic among jews in Israel over arab attackers has grown out of proportion as mob lynchings are becoming a frequent occurrence each week. And worse ... the victims are often jews mistaken to be arabs. Here's footage of the latest lynching of a jew mistaken to be an arab. Horrifying. Now israeli jews have more to fear from their own kind than from arabs.  http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/WATCH-Struggle-with-man-in-Jerusalem-mistaken-for-terrorist-moments-before-his-death-429787

A group enjoying a break at Cynthia's
Cave restaurant near the 8th Station

The chaos is not denting the tourism trade as I saw myself the huge crowds of tourists packing the Holy Sepulchre church.  However the groups make quick entries and exits into the churches, and seldom visit shops and restaurants ... for fear of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Many shops have since closed as a result.

This weekend Bethlehem is closed off due to the feast of Rachel, wife of Jacob the biblical patriarch. Her tomb is just at the entrance of Bethlehem and thousands of jews are expected to go visit it. The police have therefore closed off the entire area including roads leading into and out of Bethlehem so that only jews can travel there. There is only one road open for tourists and I think it would be jammed with traffic. What a nightmare.

Anyway winter is in. Daylight saving ends this Saturday midnight. Sunrise is now after 5am and the sky is dark by 6pm. And it's chilly in the nights though daytime can still be quite hot. We haven't had torrents of winter rain but we hope it'll come. It's been too dry for too long.

Tourists are swarming in ...

Incredible sunset over
the Old City

Although there have been a couple of stabbing attacks outside of Jerusalem, there's a strange development in the terrorist attacks ... a rise in car hit-and-run incidents. In the past 2 days some 5 incidents have occurred outside of Jerusalem. And they're all lone-wolf attacks. Nevertheless the draconian measures of the govt is having effect, and incidents have been greatly reduced.

The worrying part of this is the rise of panic among the jews and the rise of mob lynchings. And yesterday a jew on board a bus attacked 2 soldiers and tried to steal their weapons. He was shot dead. But the police were clear: he was not a terrorist. If he were a non-jew he would be a terrorist. Double standards??? http://live.jpost.com/Israel-News/Man-tries-to-stab-passengers-on-bus-steal-weapon-428685

Pilgrims venerating the relic of
the Cross

Tourists continue to come ... and churches are packed with them. But they move quickly from one site to another ... or to the guides' advantage, to visit jewish sites instead of christian sites. That's the end of the christian pilgrimage. It's a jewish tour in the name of a christian pilgrimage. Hopefully christians who pay good money to come here are not fooled by this; but being christians, they usually are. Why can't we form intelligent christians who have the courage to denounce and stand up to ruthless manipulation and tricks? Rhetorical question ......

Midweek and all is calm

Jerusalem continues to be calm and trouble free these last 2 days. Military presence is still heavy and spot checks including strip search are still enforced. Outside Jerusalem, things are a lot different. Road blocks and car checks are draconian. Traffic jams snake for up to a km at times. People are late for work, angers flare, frustrations raised. It's in the name of security ... which i can agree ... but it also smells of collective punishment.

Miss Bird begging for a pat

The last few nights I've been suffering badly from asthma ... yesterday I felt I would choke to death. It was that bad. Then I realised it could be linked to gluten. I had some rice for dinner previously. So last night I ate nothing. There was no attack of asthma or phlegm suffocating me. One problem solved ... I hope.

All the security blocks meant that I stay home more often ... and spend more time with Miss Bird and Buddy. Miss Bird has changed a lot ... from a nervous parakeet to a calm secure bird that wants to be patted on the head. Buddy on the other hand, being hand-raised, demands a lot of attention. Being a typical conure parakeet, he likes to snuggle  and sit on my shoulders. Some quality time with the pets.

I'll be busy the next few days guiding a group. Funds are getting low and I need extra work to pay for the new medicines I need. Hope Bethlehem and some other parts are calm enough for pilgrims to visit.

Fatal mistake

Today marks the 1st anniversary of the death of our student Ilie, a young romanian orthodox priest, just ordained and married for only a year. He was on his way to celebrate Sunday Mass when a drunk driver drove into him. It shocked us all ... and still is a bitter and sad memory for all of us. Rest in Peace, Ilie.

It's the season for sufgoniot

And yesterday saw Israel at its worst ... a public lynching of a foreigner mistaken to be a terrorist. The innocent died after a brutal onslaught by members of the public. The real terrorist shot and killed a soldier and wounded many others at the Beersheba Central Bus Station. In the chaos, an Eritrean asylum seeker was running and was mistaken to be an accomplice. Police shot him, and while he laid wounded, another shot him dead while members of the public stomped on him, kicked, smashed his body with chairs while shouting curses. All caught on camera. An innocent man dead. But what is worse ... it reveals the panic of the Israeli public. It no longer thinks, it reacts with animal instincts. It shows the level of utter helplessness by the ordinary person, and the inability of the govt. to contain the situation and assure the public. This crisis has taken a fatal twist and there is no turning back ... Pandora's Box is opened.

As if nature too was crying at all these misdeeds, it started raining today. In fact right now it's a lightening storm.  Lightening flashes every few seconds. In a way it's pleasant. We miss the rain after all these years of drought.

And it's the season for sufgoniot (ponschski) - doughnuts with no holes. Ate a couple at Talpiot the other day with 2 students as we went to shop for some winter clothes on sale. Talpiot is the southern suburb of Jerusalem which has several shopping malls like the rest of the world ... a little sense of normality.

Sunday

Miss Bird busy with
her pen

Saturday saw 5 stabbing attacks in various cities  around the country ... but none in Jerusalem. Security was less stringent but still substantial in and out of the Old City. Towards the south between the arab village of Jebel Mukkaber and the jewish settlement of Armon HaNatziv a separation wall was erected ... adding to the wall further south in Bethlehem. It was the prefect excuse Israel was looking for to lengthen the wall and cut off southern Palestine from northern Palestine. The arabs, by their rash acts of violence, have only helped to tighten the noose round their own necks.

Right now we're getting news of a shooting and stabbing at Beersheba's central bus station. 5 wounded, assailant killed.

Well, my 2 live-in friends are good diversions from the problems outside in the streets: Miss Bird and Buddy. There's a growing rivalry and jealousy between them, both trying to get my attention. But when I give both some TLC, and free time to roam around my room, they're quiet and happy. Being from the parrot family, their very inquisitive and I need to supply both with lots of toys so they're kept busy.

My flock of finches in
Yossi's petshop

All my finches are gone. Brought them to Yossi's shop for sale. 26 birds in the flock including 5 fledglings. It's too bad I get bullied by some authorities and forced to give up the birds ... because it's not even within their competence or authority. But some people are just born nasty and mean and petty.

My diarrhoea and asthma are better today. I might have to change medication as I seem to be getting used to the ones I'm taking - they're not working in other words.

Weekend

Friday passed without incident despite it being the Muslim New Year. The security measures were draconian ... multiple checkpoints every 10 - 15 metres. All arabs below 50 yrs were forbidden to enter the Old City. But there were fierce clashes in Bethlehem and Ramallah and other parts of the Palestinian Territories. Several people died.

Wonton noodle soup
at Mandarin restaurant

Today all the metal barriers were removed around the Old City. Inside the Old City, metal barriers were stacked on the side. Jerusalem was calm but there were attacks in Hebron and now even in Bat Yam just south of Jaffa.

What I was particularly shocked and angered was witnessing the strip-search of 2 arab young men in the middle of the cross roads of Jaffa Street and New Gate where the tram passes. In front of tourists and locals, they were forced to strip down to their underwear by Israeli soldiers. Utter humiliation ... there is a garden beside the crossroads, the soldiers could have asked them to move into that corner ... but instead they were humiliated in public. Any wonder why even the pacifists feel anger and hatred now? More enemies are made now than during the war.

I was suffering from severe and chronic diarrhoea and nausea for the past 2 days. I ate nothing but one banana and that made me very sick. When I felt better I went to Mandarin's to eat a bowl of wonton noodle soup. It felt good in a very sore tummy.

Relative quiet

Metal detector installed at
5th Station yesterday

After a relatively quiet day, the City was rocked by an attempted stabbing at Damascus Gate and a stabbing at Central Bus Station. The 19 yr old arab assailant at Damascus Gate was shot dead immediately but not before a tourist was also shot in the melee. At Central Bus Station, a jewish lady was stabbed before the assailant was shot dead. The govt has ordered the closure of several arab villages around Jerusalem. More road blocks are set up and jews are permitted to carry firearms for protection.

Meantime there was much more violent clashes in the Palestinian Territories. Bethlehem saw one of the worst clashes this week. Tomorrow begins the Muslim New Year ... let's hope the muslims will decide to celebrate instead of demonstrating and rioting.

And ironically, jews have been making revenge attacks on arabs. The ironical part is the jewish assailants mistook the victims to be arabs ... they were actually dark-skinned jews.

However despite the violence, pilgrims continue to come. They're mostly asian groups.

The family of mynahs

Walking to work nowadays is a risk. You never know if you're caught up in a stabbing ... I've had 4 close calls by now. One day my luck will run out. But walking up to work means passing by the Dmascus Gate park which is very quiet because of people's fears to venture out. That means a lot of birds are feeding in the trees and grass which they normally avoid when people are around. Yesterday I saw a family of Indian Mynahs. There were 2 mynahs last year and now they're almost 7. It's a good sign because it means the crow population is reduced ... the crows eat the eggs of indigenous birds thus wiping out many species during the past 10 years. However mynahs are considered a pest and foreign species that can be equally destructive on local species. We'll have to watch how prolific they'll become.

Another violent day

Saturday's calm was broken by a stabbing at Musrara ... in front of the bakery where I bought bread half an hour earlier. It was shocking. I stayed in the office to work as I thought things would be very tense down in Musrara/Damascus gate area where I need to pass in order to get home.

Some colorful autumn fruit to lighten
the tension in our area.

At 4pm I thought it was late enough and walked down to Damascus Gate to get home, only to encounter another stabbing right at Damascus Gate. The police were vicious ... they kept us out of the way from the Gate ... but 500 meters. Jewish youths gathered and began lynching arabs who passed by. I had to spend several hours back in the office till late evening before we were allowed to re-enter the City.

Today 3 more attacks ... the last one just a couple of minutes ago while I'm writing. First was down in St. Stephen's Gate which is 500 meters from my house. Arab assailant shot dead. 2nd stabber was a woman up in Ammunition Hill near the Central Police Station in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The 3rd is in Pisgat Zeev, a settlement north of Jerusalem. 

The El Al award

The tension in the country is thick. Now everyone is watching everyone else. Anyone who puts his/her hand in the pocket or handbag, everyone else moves quickly away. I don't know how else to ease the mind except watching the colorful fruit in our makeshift kitchen. The autumn colors are amazingly comforting.

And another comforting news: Duns Scotus Pilgrimage Ltd was awarded by  El Al for outstanding performance in 2014. Not bad for a small agency.

Calm today (almost)

Metal detector installed at
entry to El Wad street

** Breaking news: stabbing in Prophets Street in front of Damascus Gate, 2 wounded.

Today the soldiers left Via Dolorosa. The street is empty ... and arabs are out walking about now. Some sense of normality ... but who knows how long this will lasts. Metal detectors have been installed in both Jaffa Gate and Damascus Gate with a couple of soldiers in charge. But other than that, the military presence has been very much toned down. Perhaps this is a new tactic ... to lessen the provocation in the streets by their absence.

Yesterday saw another series of attacks ... and rioting in many cities ranging from Nazareth, Umm el Fahm and other northern areas. In the south, Gaza rose up with great violence ... arab youths marching toward the Israeli division wall. 7 were shot dead and many more wounded. From viral videos on the Internet, it was clear Israeli police had sent in plain clothes infiltrators to join the genuine rioters and then arrest them. The videos show some of these infiltrators shooting captured arab youths. Another video going viral is the shooting of an arab woman wielding a knife at the Afula central bus station at close range.

Autumn leaves

No matter what ... we hope things will calm down. The newspapers are at pains to emphasize that this is NOT an Intifada ... for obvious economic reasons. Tourism will definitely collapse, foreign investors will pull out and the economy will slump lower than it already is. War is not good for anyone.

I'm trying to take my mind away from this stressful situation. The brain automatically switches to defense mode when the stress overloads. So I've been admiring the beautiful color changes in the leaves ... it's autumn and the rusty red hues are dotting the trees and fields and gardens. The nights are now chilly and I think soon I'll have to take out the hot-air fans (heaters). During the day, people are beginning to wear jackets and hoodies.

Friday

Another stabbing yesterday morning in Jerusalem ... this time near the Police Head Quarters. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Jerusalem-terror-attack-Palestinian-stabs-Israeli-man-who-suffers-light-wounds-421274 Then followed by a whole series of attacks ... from Tel Aviv to Kiryat Arba to Afula. All unco-ordinated and perpetrated by lone wolves. However Jerusalem was quiet. Nazareth saw an explosion of violent demonstrations as well.

Surprisingly Jaffa saw 2 days of riots as well. Usually its a city that does not bother much with the problems of Jerusalem. This time it sounds serious. But as was acutely noted, the problem isn't about Al Aqsa and the religious struggle in Jerusalem; it's the high cost of living, the rising prices in housing in Jaffa that's igniting these riots ... the Al Aqsa question served as a catalyst.  http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Morning-after-violent-riots-Jaffa-residents-take-stock-421227

Yesterday morning the PM entered the Old City to visit the families of Sharon's House. The streets were blockaded again for an hour. I was just leaving for work but had to stand by our doorway till his motorcade entered and left. To allay further tensions in the Al Aqsa compound, the PM has ordered all ministers barred from entering the compound.

HK pilgrims from the Duns Scotus
Pilgrimage group venerating the
relic of the Holy Cross before begin-
ning the Way of the Cross

The streets are not totally empty though. Pilgrim groups continue to come, though much lesser in number. Notably the groups are all asian: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnamese, Hong Kong and China. Police stand by the Via Dolorosa to protect the tourists, and if the guides are on their toes, the groups get to visit all the Holy Places in peace and security. The last thing the govt. wants is tourists getting hurt.

Today revenge attacks start: in Dimona south of the country, a jew stabbed 4 arabs, while in Netanya 3 arabs were attacked. The arab attacker in Afula was lynched by an angry jewish mob and had to be protected by police. The vicious cycle of violence gains momentum.

Day of Terror

1st rain of the season

At 11am yesterday morning another stabbing occurred within metres of the killing that took place on Saturday last. This time an arab woman stabbed a jewish man who shot her. This took place at the 5th Station of the Cross. The City was again locked down for several hours. I was stuck exactly at the 5th Station on my way back from work at 11.30am. Then a series of other attacks followed throughout the day ... in Kiryat Gat in the south, Petah Tikva in Central Israel, then Maale Adumim north of Jerusalem and within Jerusalem itself. It was practically the most violent day since the last Intifada 15 years ago. To those who still think there is not an uprising, they should think again. The govt. appears to have lost control of the situation, jews are growing unhappy with the inability of the govt to cap the violence. Arabs say they have nothing to lose because their situation is getting worse under oppression and occupation. Most of these attackers are university students, intelligent, young ... but see no hope in their future. Getting a degree does not help them in starting a family, earning an income, living in a decent house, eating 3 meals, It's this sense of hopelessness that's spurring the violence. The constant remark I hear is "We have nothing to lose. We're already living in hell."

Thanks for the goodies

Yesterday morning we woke up to a chilly sunrise with dark grey skies. It was drizzling for a couple of hours by then and it continued to drizzle all morning. Very cool and it definitely gave a sense of winter. Everyone wore jackets and hoodies. They could feel the cold ... not just physical but perhaps also from the tension rising in the City.

Thanks for your kind gifts: Timtams, mooncakes, dried durians, jumpers, soup packs. rosary etc. ... Received everything in good state. Appreciate your kindness.Winter has started and a little comfort food goes a long way to make the dark cold afternoons livable.

Riots all over

Jews occupy El Wad street

So there were massive riots all over the Palestinian Territories yesterday: in Bethlehem where a 13 yr old arab was shot dead, in Ramallah, Jenin and even in Jaffa which is part of Israel ... everywhere except Jerusalem. It was relatively quiet here. The barriers and security checkpoints have been removed and arabs are now free to enter the Old City but military presence is still very heavy. Like I said yesterday ... not even during the Intifadas have there been such drastic tactics to deal with arab terrorism. The houses of the arab killers (the ones that shot the jewish couple in Nablus last week) have been destroyed and the families cast out in the streets - it's collective punishment. Funny because those israelis who killed the arab family last month have not yet been caught nor will their houses be destroyed.

Name and shame

Jews have now occupied El Wad street, specifically in front of Sharon's House where the killings occurred. They have a sit in / pray in ... and by afternoon a large part of the street was occupied; so much so that police and soldiers had to cordon it off because any arab who passed by were beaten up. The time for revenge is obvious ... eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. The newspapers are screaming "Israel's Right wants blood in the streets". Arabs are scared and are staying indoors. The occupiers have started a name and shame tactic by placing boards accusing accomplices to the murders in front of arab shops. They accuse these shop owners for having witnessed the stabbings but did nothing to help the victims. In fact the public prosecutor is going to start a case on these "accomplices". Funny because when arabs were attacked by jews in Ben Yehudi Mall and at train stations last year - all caught on camera - jewish witnesses who did nothing to help the victims were not called accomplices and they were not charged for neglecting to help the victims.

Life gets so complicated here. As one frenchman said recently in an interview "This is such a sad place to live in".

Old City lockdown

Security check at El Wad
street

The past 2 days witnessed a draconian measure taken by Israeli Police. The Old City was in a total lockdown. No arab allowed into the Old City except residents and business owners. Not even during the 2 Intifadas was this measure ever taken. Security barriers  at every junction in the Old City, and every 10 meters are a dozen soldiers and border police. Damascus Gate was like a fortress. All entry above the cavea was blocked off. If you succeeded in getting through that, there was another security barrier at Damascus Gate itself. Then further down the road at El Wad street, another checkpoint ... and further down the road at Austrian Hospice and 3rd Station, another checkpoint. Though tourists are allowed to enter freely, sometimes the soldiers ask for passports.

Deserted streets: checkpoint
at Austrian Hospice/3rd Station

All along Via Dolorosa there are soldiers every 10 meters. People are afraid to make the Way of the Cross after the terrorist shot at tourists on Saturday. Residents shut themselves indoors and most shops remained closed. It was virtually a curfew.

Jews on the other hand have been trying to force themselves into the Muslim Quarter to attack arabs and burn their property. They had previously attacked arab workers down in Mamilla Mall. Right now a group of young israeli jews have camped outside Sharon's House where the murders took place. The mood is tense and I doubt any arab dare to walk pass there today. Much as I didn't want to go out, I had to make several trips to buy medicine and food. It was very uneasy. Newspapers are asking if the 3rd Intifada had started. I say it already did ... last year.

Terror attack

Ambulance carrying off
victims while I was stuck in
the middle of the chaos

Was just caught up in a terrorist attack. Was going to see the doctor for my asthma at 7.30pm ... reaching the Austrian Hospice when just a few seconds earlier an arab terrorist stabbed 4 jews and shot at tourists. The terrorist was shot dead by police but not before 2 victims had died. A 2 yr old baby was hurt ... I was just 1 foot away from the baby when police carried him away. Horrifying.

Police began cordoning the area and shooing everyone out ... the area stretched from the beginning of El Wad street through Sharon's House down to the 3rd Station. However the police ignored me and I was stuck in the middle of this cordoned-off area for some 20 mins. I had several asthma attacks that time. Then a soldier came and asked mw what I was doing in there ... I said I needed to go to hospital. He accompanied to the 5th Station just outside the cordoned-off area and told me to wait.

Body of terrorist covered in
white cloth (the white thing
\in the middle of the tunnel)

I waited for another 15 mins, with several other attacks of asthma ... then some other soldiers saw me. They took my arm and helped me walk further up the street as I was quite weak from asthma and arabs were throwing stones. Sat there for some half hour till I felt better. Ambulances and police kept coming into the area ... and soldiers threatened to shoot stun grenades at the growing crowd of arabs. Knowing it was impossible to get out of the place to hospital, I slowly walked up to the 7th Station and down Khan Ezzeit street toward Damascus Gate. Soldiers along the road told me the Gate was closed. Anyway I reached the foot of Damascus gate and stayed there, next to the little shop of Abu George. From there I could see the body of the terrorist in the middle of the road in front of the nargileh shop.

Sat there for over 2 hours while arabs gathered and got very agitated as they wanted to go to Al Aqsa Mosque to pray. Things got heated up and finally soldiers fired stun grenades to disperse them. I had to run for shelter into Abu George's shop. One of my regular pharmacist was there and asked if I was ok and needed medicine. I was feeling much better and had a drink from Abu George. There were also riots up in Damascus Gate and stun grenades and tear gas were also fired. I was caught in the middle. But it was a safe place.

Finally when the entry to Damascus Gate was opened (but El Wad street was still cordoned off ... municipality workers were washing the blood off the street) I took a long detour and entered the City through Herod's Gate. Got home at 11.30pm.

This horrifying attack comes less than a day when another jewish couple was killed near Nablus. There will be revenge attacks. Things don't look good.

Friday

Waving the 4 species at the
Wailing Wall

Yesterday night saw the dreadful murder of a young jewish couple, shot in the head while driving through Palestinian Territory. In the car were their 4 children, all alive. This vicious murder will provoke jews to take revenge on arabs but killings and burnings. While not trivialising the murder, I cannot but think of the jewish murder of the arab family that left parents and baby burnt to death last month. The murderers have not been caught yet.

Today Friday saw a lot of tensions int he Old City as Israeli police took drastic measures by locking down the Muslim Quarter to muslims going to the Al Aqsa mosque to pray. Men below 50 yrs were not allowed to enter. In protest the men blocked the streets along the Al Aqsa and prayed in the streets. Several scuffles took place and stun grenades fired. I think tonight there'll be violence behind our house, as was the past few days. Another sleepless night. Mind you we living here are tired of these riots. It's the few trouble makers who're making life difficult for everyone.

Jaffa Street is packed with
people enjoying the festivities

Meanwhile the jews continue celebrating Sukkoth. Nothing is going to stop them. Men carry for the 4 species and wave them in the 4 corners of the earth during prayers. The 4 species are the date palm frond, a branch of myrtle, a branch of willow and an etrog which is a huge tasteless lemon.

In the New City, the night are packed with street markets, street performances and food. It's very festive but one thing is very obvious - there are no arabs in the streets. The tension between the 2 races are reaching a peak. Life in West Jerusalem during Sukkoth is full of fun. Kids carry balloons given free at street corners. But in East Jerusalem, the streets are empty as arabs stay indoors while soldiers patrol in groups of 5 or 12. There's an unspoken curfew.