General News and Announcements

March 11, 2010

On February 10, 2010, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers arrived at a family recreation park in Beit Sahour in the West Bank, declared it a closed military zone, and began excavating it.

Since 1967, Beit Sahour, one of the last Christian majority towns in the West Bank, has repeatedly lost land to the Jerusalem municipality and to the nearby settlement of Har Homa. Land was transferred to the Beit Sahour municipality, but under severe restrictions.

The municipality renovated the public land, built a recreational park and playground—the "Peace Park"—and was planning to build a hospital as well. However, since 2008 there has been pressure to make this into an Israeli settlement, and this February, Israeli soldiers and bulldozers arrived at the park, declared it a closed military zone, and began excavating it.

Join with United Church partners in responding to this situation by learning more from the Take Action and expressing your support for the people of Beit Sahour.