Bethlehem Is Skeptical Over Pullout News

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Residents of this biblical city reacted with measured relief Monday to news of the Israeli military’s withdrawal under a deal between Israeli and Palestinian officials.

“The Israel Defense Forces have pulled out of Bethlehem and redeployed around the city,” the army said in a statement.

Earlier, shopkeepers dusted off their merchandise. Vegetable markets reopened, and traffic jams returned to commercial areas.

“I’m very happy,” said Raida Hroub, a 28-year-old mother standing beside plum, date and peach hawkers, her four children in tow. “We’ve had it up to here,” she added, lifting her hand to her chin.

After so much turmoil, however, many Palestinians refused to believe that the curfews, incursions, arrests and military searches that have been so much a part of their lives in recent months were over.

“They know the road back here very well,” Ruba Magdi, 22, said of the Israeli army. “There have been many withdrawals, but they keep coming back.”

Under a deal reached between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators late Sunday, Israel agreed to pull out of Bethlehem and parts of the Gaza Strip within 48 hours. In return, the Palestinian Authority said it would endeavor to prevent attacks on Israelis.

Israel said the relaxation could be extended to other West Bank cities if all goes well, although militant Palestinian groups have already denounced the agreement.

“Our rifles will remain directed against the Zionist enemy,” said Abdulaziz Rantisi, a senior official of Hamas, which has been behind many suicide attacks that have killed scores of Israelis.

Seizing the Moment

Even if the cease-fire turns out to be temporary, Bethlehem residents were quick to grab the opportunity to shop, see friends and enjoy a bit of freedom.

“We’ll enjoy it while it lasts,” said Isaac Hazboun, a 60-year-old commercial photographer. “It makes us feel like human beings again.”

One of the biggest problems ahead will be resuscitating an economy crippled by travel restrictions and conflict. Palestinian Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib recently reported that unemployment in the Palestinian areas is 80%, twice what it was five months ago. Only about a third of Bethlehem’s shops were open Monday.

“I haven’t sold a single thing yesterday or today,” said Khalid Fauzi, a tangle of souvenir necklaces draped over his arm as he trolled Manger Square for nonexistent tourists. “Before the intifada, I’d pull down $100 on a good day. Now I have to borrow from relatives just to make ends meet.”

Living under four months of intermittent curfew has also taken its toll in less obvious ways. Many complained of gaining weight after being forced to stay in their homes with little to do but eat and watch television.

“I competed with my kids for the video game machine,” said Elias Hazboun, owner of a small liquor and snack store on Star Street opposite the Church of the Nativity.

Extended periods together in close quarters put emotional strain on many families. Omar Habib, a 17-year-old dubbed the “Church Guy” by his friends after spending 23 days in the Church of the Nativity during the April-May siege, said spending so much time at home made him claustrophobic.

“I feel like I’ve been in jail,” he said. “My mother, father, older brother, they all tell me what to do all the time: ‘Go get this,’ ‘Go do that.’ We’ve had a lot of arguments.”

Life as Improvisation

But the restrictions also have forced people to become more flexible. Wedding ceremonies and receptions typically held in the afternoon and evening were shifted to mornings and lunchtimes, when curfews were more likely to be suspended. Local television stations would then broadcast wedding and funeral “rain dates” in the event that curfews were reimposed at the last minute.

Nasser, a Palestinian policeman who gave only his first name, expressed confidence that he and his colleagues would be able to maintain security, provided that the Israelis withdrew and gave them enough room to do their job.

“I believe step by step we can extend the freedoms to other West Bank cities,” he said. “Both sides are tired of the fighting.”

But others were more skeptical. Khader abu Abbara, a local official with the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, predicted that the hastily arranged deal would fall apart. He said Israel is demanding that the weakened Palestinian Authority do what the strong Israeli army could not--end suicide bombings.

“Palestinians are tired and think we should go for a peace plan,” he said. “But the way it stands now, one operation by a Palestinian militia will end the whole thing. The only solution is a political deal with the promise of statehood.”

In the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday, several Palestinians reportedly were injured after shooting broke out between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. The army also said it destroyed a bomb lab.

A 14-year-old Palestinian boy reportedly was shot and killed near Jenin in the West Bank. The Israeli army said it was investigating. Other reports said four Palestinian policemen and two members of the militant Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade were arrested at a police station in Ramallah in the West Bank.