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| Police horses and their trailers |
Tensions continue to rise as news spreads that Israel will increase building more settlements in Palestine. There is a propaganda war on the Internet with Israel pushing out videos claiming sovereignty over Palestinian land, that Palestine never historically existed, that it is an israeli right to build and live in Palestine. I only hope dialogue and help resolve this, not violence from both sides of the divide. Meantime more stop-and-search are taking place throughout the City, vehicles still forbidden to traverse our streets in the Muslim Quarter (something I'm grateful for) ... and the Mounted Police have arrived. That is a sure sign that they expect problems. The horse trailers are parked opposite the Old City in a plot of land below Notre Dame. The horses are allowed to destress and acclimatise to the noise and smells of the City before they are brought into service in the streets.
One thing is I hope this tension will not dampen the Chinese New Year celebrations. Not that Israel ever celebrates it ... but for us chinese pats who want to celebrate, closure of roads, curfews and transport stoppages would not be pleasant.
And the weather promises to be cool if not cold during the CNY. Forecast is for rain on Friday night to Monday.
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