Christians in Palestine: Living in a Nightmare
The horror story no one talks about
In 1950, Christians accounted for 15% of the population in the Palestinian territories. Since then, their numbers have dropped to 1.5%. In the Gaza Strip, there are only 3,000 of them left, compared to the 1.5 million Muslims. In this part of the world, Christians are declining for an obvious reason that is often overlooked by the mainstream media: more and more Muslims want them out of what they view as their land, and they make that clearly known.
Islam First
Ever since the Palestinian Authority (PA) came into power in the mid-nineties and Hamas in 2007, there has been a consistent increase in violence and persecution against Christians in Palestine. Consequently, thousands of Christians have fled the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories to seek refuge elsewhere, including in Israel, where they are welcomed.
The PA’s constitution explicitly states that Islam is Palestine’s official religion and Sharia the main source of legislation. This Islamic dominance is evident in the legal and judicial systems, which provide very little protection to Christians and encourage discrimination in educational, cultural, and fiscal policies. And that discrimination is felt by Christians on a daily basis.
A case in point: in February 2015, Christians in Nazareth were alarmed by a billboard outside the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The billboard ordered them not to spread their faith or speak of Jesus in a way that contradicts the Islamic version of his life. Due to the potentially violent nature of Palestinians, nobody dared to complain. Unfortunately, discrimination is not the only challenge faced by Christians in Palestine.
Christian Buildings Torched and Vandalized
On September 26, 2015, the Mar Charbel monastery in Bethlehem was mostly destroyed in an arson attack. Two days prior, the monastery had been burglarized by Palestinian Muslims, who stole valuable items. However, the monastery was not the only Christian place of worship to be the target of Muslim hatred.
The Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George in Tulkaram had also been burned down, this time during the September 2006 riots following the publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper. Around the same time, another Greek Orthodox Church in Taubus, a town near Jenin, suffered a similar fate. In all, seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were ransacked over three days during this time.
One of the most striking events was the 2002 siege of the Church of the Nativity, which is located at the traditional site of Jesus’s birth. Over 100 militiamen loyal to then-President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, held dozens of priests and nuns hostage. Additionally, the militiamen looted the church and set parts of the building on fire. Despite this, the Israeli troops refrained from shooting at the attackers out of respect for the religious significance of the site.
Even schools have not been spared. In May 2008, attackers detonated a bomb in front of the Zahwa Rosary Christian School in Gaza, which had previously been ransacked in June 2007 during a period of intense fighting following the takeover of power by Hamas. The attackers had burned bibles, and arsonists had also targeted the Sagrada Familia school.
More recently, on the night of May 13, 2019, a church in the Maronite community in central Bethlehem was desecrated, and expensive equipment, including security cameras, was stolen. Three days later, the Anglican Church in the village of Abud was also targeted by vandals who stole precious objects.
Threats and Extortion
In Ramallah, which is considered the most liberal city in Palestine, threats against Christians are common. A great example is that of an Arab-American pastor named Isa Bajalia, who was repeatedly threatened by a Fatah security official from the Tanzim militia. The official demanded $30,000 from the pastor for his protection, but Bajalia never paid the charge; instead, he chose to move to Jerusalem.
This type of story is not exceptional. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, together with Justus Reid Weiner, reported that a Christian gold dealer of Armenian origin was extorted by the Palestinian police while on a business trip to Gaza. He was arrested, taken into custody, and beaten for several hours. He was subsequently asked to hand over half of his gold in exchange for his release, which he refused to do. The Palestinian police eventually confiscated his watch, rings, half of his gold, and the $6,000 in cash he was carrying, before releasing him.
During the Second Intifada (2000 to 2005), a Christian coffee owner in Bethlehem who had refused to pay a kickback to a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades was shot in the eye but survived. After living three decades in Bethlehem, he moved out, deeming Palestine too risky for his liking.
On May 1, 2015, Sheikh Issam Ameera of Al-Aqsa mosque uploaded a video of a sermon titled “The Islamic State Is the Guardian of Religion and the State”, in which he ordered Muslims to be in a constant state of war and conquest against “polytheistic enemies”, that is, Christians and Jews. Three days later, 60 to 80 Muslims in their twenties threw stones at homes and businesses owned by Christians, while others attacked an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery, on which they painted anti-Christian messages.
On April 25, 2019, frightened residents of Jifna, near Ramallah, pleaded with the Palestinian Authority to safeguard them following an assault by armed individuals of Muslim descent. The conflict arose after a Christian woman complained to the police against the son of a Fatah-affiliated leader. Numerous gunmen then descended on Jifna and hurled Molotov cocktails, resulting in substantial damage to public property.
Women Beaten and Raped
Women, of course, bear the brunt of Muslim violence in Palestine. Examples abound; we will give four of them.
In 2001, a former commander of Yasser Arafat’s Tanzim militia attempted to rape two Christian teenage girls from the West Bank village of Beit Jala. Because the young women resisted, the aggressor murdered them in cold blood. The following year, another of Arafat’s commanders raped a Christian woman in Beit Sahour.
In September 2005, the romantic relationship between a Christian man from Tayibe and a Muslim woman from a nearby village led to an uprising of Muslim men, who burned down houses and businesses and destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary. It was learned later that the woman was poisoned by her own family in an “honor killing” case.
A final example: in June 2011, Muslim men from a refugee camp attempted to abduct a Christian girl with the intention to assault her. A group of Christian men quickly intervened to save the girl, but because they injured one of the Muslim attackers, they were all detained.
The international community has chosen to remain silent on these occurrences to focus more on Islamophobia. Yet, a report by Open Doors USA revealed that a staggering 245 million Christians around the world were facing persecution, including those in Palestine. Now, guess what: 38 of the 50 nations that persecute Christians are predominantly Muslim.
Sources
ICEJ, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jewish Virtual Library #1, Jihad Watch, #1, #2, The Gatestone Institute, Wikipedia
