Good news for SkyWatch Friday!
Beginning on Sunday, this wall will be torn down.
The residents living across the street in the south Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo will be able to see more sky.
The Gilo residents will also be able to see their neighbor village again, Beit Jala.
Beit Jala is a Christian Arab village in the West Bank.I should also say that Gilo, built in 1972, is just over the Green Line.
The problem between them began in 2000, during the second intifada.
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Some Palestinian gunmen used a few buildings of the village to shoot into the windows of the Gilo houses on an on-going basis.
That is why the protective wall was put up, to protect those living in Gilo from shells and bullets flying into their bedrooms
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The snipers who came into and used the village hoped Israel would respond heavily to their gunfire and attack the Christian village, causing very bad press for Israel. Well, we didn't.
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To learn more about this you can see
IDF statement on how/why/when the wall will be dismantled
Pre-1948 history of Gilo
Photos of Gilo under siege
Briefing by then-mayor Ehud Olmert
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Happy SkyWatch, hopefully with many sightings of the Perseid meteor shower tonight.
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UPDATE: Haaretz just now (Aug. 13) published a slideshow of 8 photos of different sections of this small wall.
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A lot of rain in southern Germany, so we'll have to imagine the Perseids.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful SkyWatch Friday photo
ReplyDeleteRegards, Bram
My SkyWatch Friday
The sky is a brilliant blue. Good to hear the wall will be coming down. It is sad that walls have to be built because some cannot live in harmony. Hopefully no problems arise after it comes down.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Melbourne Daily Photo
That's good news. Like yesterday's icecream as well. Haven't heard anything about a meteor shower so presumably we don't see it.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots.
ReplyDeleteSydney - City and Suburbs
Doggone it! We were planning to watch the meteor showers, but it's clouding over. I can't believe it's already going to be Friday. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing that this tract of the wall is going down. It shows to world that it is a temporary measure and that it works.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information. It is always good to hear what goes on from someone who is actually there. We had good friends in Israel who kept us well informed but they were the age of our parents and have long since moved on.
ReplyDeleteI hope the wall will stay down permanently and neighbours will again learn to get along with each other.
good news
ReplyDeleteYes, one small step closer....
ReplyDelete