Christian Persecution in Palestinian Territories

There is noticeably more pressure on believers in Gaza than in the West Bank because the authorities are increasingly under the influence of Islamic extremists. Christians experience oppression from radical Muslim groups and the authorities fail to uphold and protect the rights of individual Christians. On the West Bank the situation is different: the ruling Fatah party is based on secular principles. However, fear is growing because of mounting tension between Israel and Iran, and the church is suffering from the restrictions that result from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

PRAY:

• For persecuted Christians who live in hiding; and for those who, through despair at the political and economic situation, feel forced to leave Gaza

• That political tensions will not negatively affect the church

• For the work of Musahala, bringing reconciliation between Messianic believers and Palestinian Christians.

Help Christians where the need is greatest!

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NOTE: Comments which use inappropriate language or attack any individual based off of religion, ethnicity, belief etc will be removed.

http://www.facebook.com/mike.beyer.509 Mike Beyer

Has this list been given to the members of the respective US states and the federal government?
mjb
http://www.facebook.com/tom.stedham Tom Stedham

what are these “restrictions” and exactly who is causing them?
John

This is a really cowardly statement. I’ve been to Bethlehem, and the writers of this report neglect to mention Israel built a wall around the city which acts as a prison cage. Without a permit (which Israel rarely issues) Palestinians aren’t allowed to enter Jerusalem and other nearby cities. It is also not mentioned that only a small number of Christians in Bethlehem and throughout the West Bank and Gaza are given permits to reach Jerusalem for holy days such as Easter and Christmas. What I’ve mentioned is the tip of the iceberg of Israel’s persecution and oppression of Christians.
John

and let’s not forget how Israel bombs and desecrates mosques and churches on a regular basis
Howard Stern

The above text is, sadly, very accurate. Palestinian Christians are suffering more and more at the hands of Islamic extremists such as Hamas who have also shot, threatened and driven out all but 1500 of the remaining Christians in Gaza. That 600 Gazan Christians, who were given permits for Christmas to go to West bank and Jerusalem, are now seeking refuge in Israel says it all. I speak to Palestinians Christians daily and they are deeply concerned for their future and tell me that Israel’s presence (occupation!) in the west bank is the only restraint preventing an all out persecution as seen in Egypt, Syria and all the other surrounding Arab-Islamic states. Israel is the only country in the middle-east where Christianity in free and growing. As for restrictions perhaps John below can account for the opening of the checkpoints last summer when tens of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were free to go into Israel, or the thousands of permits issued at Christmas and Easter (including to my own Palestinian Christian friends) to go to the Holy sites? Or even the 187,000 Palestinian children who received medical treatment last year in Israeli hospitals…or the Israeli air ambulances that take serious RTA victims into Hadassa… or the churches in Ramalllah that cannot start worshipping until their music is drowned out by clerics shouting from minarets for fear of persecution…or the pastors chased out of Gaza at gunpoint….I too could go on John……
- http://profile.yahoo.com/TYCYJ4AE75245PWCXMRRZIY7FA Josélia
  
  I challenge you to show me a story about Hamas shooting any one Christian in Gaza. I’ve read an interview the Associated Press had with Father Alexis, the Christian Orthodox bishop in charge of the Palestinian-Israeli region, and he did say that Hamas has protected the Christians’ right to worship — that in fact, Hamas has an interest to do so, because it wishes to get close to nations in the Christian world.
  
  There’d been attacks on Christians in Gaza some years ago, true, but these belonged neither to Hamas nor to other authorized groups in the Strip, but to outlawed Salafi groups whom, as even Western press have recognized, have been repressed by Hamas.
  
  With a crappy infrastructure, and having soldiers being murdered by Israel every few years, it’s perhaps expected that Hamas will fail to catch all the fanatics responsible for attacking BOTH Christians and Muslims in Gaza.
  
  I recommend a reading of the following article, “Persecuted Christians?”, by Larry Derfner, on the Jerusalem Post of all places. It’s a nice debunking of the boogeyman image Western Christians have painted of Hamas. Among other things, the article points out that Hamas has forged strategic alliances with Christian politicians in Palestine, and even supported their campaigns to gain office in key Palestinian cities.
  
  http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Article.aspx?id=141511
  
  I found Open Door’s summary on Palestine ill-written, unnuanced and inaccurate. It makes me wonder about its biases and professionalism.
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