Protest Continues at Osh Grab

IMEMC
Thursday, February 11th, a group of residents from the town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, arrived at the former military base, Osh Grab, to discover that excavation of the site had continued.

... construction of a watchtower, under the auspices of the need for increased security in the area. The residents of Beit Sahour fear that the area will be returned to a full military base, or worse, construction of a settlement will begin...

Upon arrival, at 9 a.m., both the residents of Beit Sahour, and the journalists in attendance, were prevented from climbing to the top of the hill, where the former base is situated, as they were informed by the Israeli military that the area had become a closed military zone...

When the base was abandoned, in April 2006, some land reverted to it’s original owners, and the public land was transformed into a community centre and park for locals...

The municipality of Beit Sahour wants to construct a children’s hospital on this site, but has been unable to secure the permission of the Israeli military.   Full story