Getting an earful ... loudspeakers held up near the Nativity Church pump out the noise. Photo: AFP,
Posted on 04/16/2002 1:49:54 PM PDT by history_matters
By Alan Philps in Jerusalem
April 16 2002
Daily Telegraph, London
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Getting an earful ... loudspeakers held up near the Nativity Church pump out the noise. Photo: AFP, |
The Israeli Army is broadcasting ear-splitting screeches and wails at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, traditional site of Jesus' birth, to force out 200 Palestinians besieged there.
Troops brought in a crane to hoist loudspeakers over the ancient basilica, one of the holiest shrines in Christendom, as part of what one person inside called "psycho terror". One of the noises sounds like a car alarm.
Camped outside the church, the army estimates there are about 50 wanted Palestinian militants inside, with clergy and civilians.
The Israeli Government offered a deal on Sunday under which the wanted men would be given a choice between permanent exile and trial before a military court. "If they leave, it's for good but, if they stay, then they will have to stand trial in Israel," said a spokesman for the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. The offer was put by the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, during talks on Sunday.
Palestinian negotiators immediately rejected it, saying the men would not accept exile, and if they were to be judged it should be before a Palestinian court. But they would accept any deal that Mr Arafat approved.
In an appeal on Friday the trapped Palestinians called for United Nations intervention to save them from "a slow death".
They have been deprived of food for almost two weeks, and the army has shot at Palestinian youths lobbing bags of bread into the compound.
"We are hearing loud whistles and screeches in the daytime and now at night," said the Governor of Bethlehem, Mahmoud Madani, who is inside the church. "They want to destroy our morale, but the only solution is a negotiated settlement."
The church has responded to the caterwauling by ringing its bells.
In a major blow to the Palestinian resistance, Israel last night arrested Marwan Barghouthi, a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank and regarded by Israel as the top militant in the area, Israeli security sources said.
Barghouthi, sought by Israel since it launched a West Bank offensive on March 29, was arrested in the city of Ramallah, the sources said.
And, by what measures do you judge this operation? DO you want the Israelies to do what we did 20 years ago: allow the standoff, which may last for years (unlike the Arabs, they will NOT offend Christians by storming the church)?
Interesting standards you apply, especially considering your screen name. "Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice.
"[JOKE: from the Latin jocus]:something said for the sake of exciting a laugh; a jest..." etc.
Always important to keep a sense of humor online and pick up on subtlety. BTW, the Knights of Malta do not have an actual military anymore - knowledge of this actual Catholic organization would have keyed one in on this and the nonserious jocular suggestion, phrased with tell-tale question mark. Lighten up.
How about Onward Christian Soldiers?
Shouldn't that be subduing American teenagers by now then?
The use of a sonic weapon is invasion of the Church as much as if they had filled the Church with tear gas -- which is strictly forbidden under the accord with the Vatican.
Why call up the Knights of Malta? Were they crusaders? Have a special connection to the Church of the Nativity?
What they should do is broadcast a sinewave sweeping from 10 to 20 Hz; Vary the amplitude and the sweep rate for extra fun. The average human stomach has its resonant frequency in that band. The Palis will get nauseous as the sound shakes their innards. It should even be possible to mix it in with the shrieking they're playing now.
She plugged it into a wall socket, turned it on and smiled sweetly as every man in the room grabbed his crotch and hobbled quickly out the door. The sucker put out some sort of low frequency sound which relaxed the adult male bladder.
But it only worked in enclosed rooms.
They are pawns ... simply a part of effecting the stated communist objective of an "arc of radical Islam" to confound us and constitute the crisis necessary to confect a security collective in the ME region. (Much like they finessed the New NATO in the Euro Soviet ... only different because they too see the brown and black people as exceptionally expendable.)
If I hold Israel to a higher standard, it's likely I have my reasons.
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When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know." The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. |
Thus spake the God of the Jews to Abraham ... father of Israel and God's own beloved who witnessed with his own life -- and the willingness to sacrifice his only son -- his being made in God's image.
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Now that's the best idea I've heard since this began! Think we could throw in a bunch of prayers, too, and maybe convert a few heathens to a more peaceful and tolerant religion? ;)
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