Three days following Easter, on April 16, 17, and 18, Bethlehem was the target of the most ferocious artillary exchanges to date and Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) sustained significant damage.The Bethlehem Bible College is an interdenominational Christian Bible college, located in Bethlehem, Palestine and founded in 1979 by local Christian Arabs.

Damage to the BBC included:

1.The central electrical board, located on the sidewalk directly in front of the college was specifically targeted and destroyed by a shell taking out electricity, phone, fax, and e-mail connections for several days.

2.The beautiful outdoor mural which adorns the wall leading down the driveway and had become a stunning visual symbol for the College?s unique ministry was damaged in several places.

3.About half of the rooftop water tanks were punctured, the glass panes in six of the nine solar panels were cracked, several of the boiler units were damaged, and the surface of the roof is now pockmarked with no less than 12 indentations from exploding missiles. Many water pipes and wires running along the exterior of the buildings also sustained damage, as well as assorted fence railings, gates, and grillwork.

4.Sixty-seven window panes, primarily in the guesthouse and library as well as the stairwell of Bishara Awwad's(President of BBC) residence, were shattered by ricocheting debris from massive shelling of Bethlehem?s main street. The black impact marks of three missiles also decorate the front fa?ade of the guesthouse facing the street.

College representatives emphasize that the attacks which took place in the days following Easter were not ?retaliatory responses? as is routinely claimed by the Israeli military in its simplistic attempts at justification. They add that many can testify to the fact that shelling preceded gunfire in at least two of these three incidences.



To Check the Bible College Web site, check www.bethlehembiblecollege.edu