Reports from Gaza indicate that the Hamas-ruled territory is becoming a Taliban-style state with forced conversions to Islam and increasing persecution, forcing many Evangelical Christians to flee to Bethlehem and other Palestinian cities. Christians who have chosen to remain in Gaza or can’t get out are growing beards in order to look Moslem, dressing so as not to be noticed and keeping a low profile, Palestinian Christians told Israel Today, asking that their names not be used.
“It has reached a new point,” said Justus Weiner, a Jewish Israeli human rights lawyer who represents Arab Christians persecuted by Moslems. “If I were a Christian in Gaza, I’d be worried.”
The behavior of Moslems in the Palestinian territories “shows a lot of audacity,” Weiner said. Extremists are even threatening Western Palestinians. Weiner cited Isa Bajalia, a Palestinian pastor interviewed by Israel Today last month, who was threatened and forced to leave Ramallah. Bajalia, unlike most Palestinians, is also an American citizen and appealed for help to the US Consulate. Most Palestinians have no recourse.
“No one expects any justice to be done vis-à-vis Rami’s killers,” Weiner said referring to Rami Ayyad, a Bible Society worker who was kidnapped and shot, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children (see Israel Today, November).
Palestinian security officials arrested a member of the Hamas military wing in connection with the murder, but he was released with a reprimand, according to several members of the Christian community. The word on the street is that the leaders of the Gaza Baptist Church could also be targeted and that their lives are in danger.
Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of the radical Jihadia Salafiya group, has warned that Christians must accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, if they want to continue living safely in Gaza.
Christians number only 2,000 among the more than 1.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“The remaining Christian community is in a panic. They’re keeping their heads very low,” Weiner said. “Christian institutions don’t have anything on the façade that would identify them.”
Jan 2, 2008
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