Tuesday 13 July

It's getting hotter! I spilt a whole pot of gloss white paint over the drive way of the SOS village. I scrubbed and scrubbed through the calls of 'Mish mushkilah!'- No problem!

I took well advantage of the many breaks that are offered by the families here; watermelon, Mjadara, (rice and lentils) tea, coffee, cigarettes and a conversation between a Muslim mother and her Christian friend of the merits of not killing people in the truer senses of their similar religions.

Evening

Returning from the 'tent' at 11:30pm, Richard (my American neighbour) and I were concerned by the orange tracer fire in the sky above Shepherds field.

We were worried the Israelis had for some reason decided to attack Beit Sahour. As we reached the main road, the sound of rioting became clear.

Many people were watching from the street or from their verandas, the orange glow of the bullets flying far above us, as if it was a firework display.

'No Israeli - Falestiin and Falestiin!' a local man informed us with hand movements that adequately described an internal conflict.

Why? - 'Because they're crazy!' A burst of gun fire almost sent Richard and I scuttling over a wall like rabbits until we composed ourselves in mild embarrassment. 'The bullets won't reach here', a man said calmly 'I grew up with this'.

News travels fast here as several people told us the domestic conflict started when a Muslim man secretly photographed a Christian woman in a dressing room of a clothes shop.

The Police arrested the main culprit who started all the trouble and fired a lot of bullets in the sky, across Beit Sahour to warn people away from the area.

After about half an hour, the police had calmed the situation, but the Israeli army still came in an ordered a curfew. The Palestinian police are not very well liked here. 'They are corrupt and do nothing, they are rubbish!' one man said.

We arrived home to find our family watching the commotion from the Veranda until it calmed down, 'We are always scared that these problems between Muslims and Christians will escalate, but we have good religious leaders in Beit Sahour, they finish the problems. It is stupid, these things, when we have much bigger problems.'

'The villages where we came from in Israel are more beautiful than here, but we can't go and see them' said Mohammed, who's family originated from a village near Jerusalem before 1948. 'I like Dhehaisha camp, I have lived here for 18 years, my father has lived here and so has my grandfather'

Paul Gent