Middle East Christians news
BETHLEHEM’S CHRISTIAN MINORITY BRACES FOR HAMAS RULE (2/17)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL, the news service of the World Council of Churches, is reporting that Christians living in Jesus' birthplace of Bethlehem are bracing themselves as the militant Islamic group Hamas prepares to take power of the Palestinian Authority government after winning legislature elections in January. "There are many Christians who are afraid," said Shatha, a student at the Roman Catholic Bethlehem University. "Since Hamas is new to the government, I doubt they will be able to implement Islamic law," she said the day before Hamas was to take over the Palestinian authority on 17 February. "But it's possible they might in the future."

PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS FEAR HARD LINE ISLAMIC AGENDA (1/16)
The RELIGIOUS LIBERTY NEWSLETTER recently commented on Palestinian Christians concerns regarding the elections being conducted in the Palestinian-controlled territories for the 132-member Palestinian parliament. Christian concerns are that Hamas, a terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, is contesting the elections on a platform of 'change and reform'. With Hamas expected to make significant gains, Palestinian Christians and women fear the imposition of a hard line Islamist agenda. In December 2005 the leader of the Hamas contingent at the municipal council of Bethlehem, Hassam El-Masalmeh, told The Wall Street Journal that Hamas intends to re-institute the 'jizya', a tax mandated by the Qur'an (sura 9:29) to be imposed on non-Muslims who have chosen not to convert to Islam and must now pay for their right to life. (Jizya is a form of systematic religious humiliation, persecution and extortion).

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
IN JERUSALEM COMPLAINS OF REBUFF BY ISRAEL (1/6/06)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL news service reports that the Greek Orthodox church in the Holy Land said it is offended by Israel's snubbing of its new Patriarch Theophilos III at the annual New Year's reception by Israel for Christian leaders. Theophilos and his bishops did not attend the banquet hosted by President Moshe Katsav because he was not invited in his capacity as the leader of the church. Instead the invitation referred to him merely as a "bishop".

ISRAEL AND GREEK ORTHODOX
CHURCH AT LOGGERHEADS OVER PATRIARCH (11/30)
According to the ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL, Israel and the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land are embroiled in a court battle about the enthronement of a new patriarch to replace a predecessor dismissed over controversial land deals to investors linked to ultranationalist Jewish groups. Patriarch Theophilos III had been enthroned in a solemn ceremony on November 22 at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem attended by Greek political and religious leaders, including Greek President Karolos Papoulias, despite Israeli opposition. Israel has called the enthronement "a serious impropriety."

VATICAN’S UN ENVOY MAKES PLEA FOR HOLY LAND CHRISTIANS (11/3)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL news service is reporting that the Vatican's envoy to the United Nations has issued a plea to the world body to deal with the plight of the dwindling Christian population in the Holy Land. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, said that Christians in the Holy Land had become the targets of religious extremists.

MUSLIMS TORCH 14 CHRISTIAN HOMES NEAR RAMALLAH (9/8)
At least 14 houses belonging to Christian residents of Taybeh, a West Bank village northeast of Ramallah, were torched by Muslims from neighboring Dir Jarir on September 7 to avenge what they termed the dishonor of a Muslim woman, HA’ARETZ has reported. According to Taybeh residents, several dozen young men from Dir Jarir descended on their village before dawn, torched the homes, and destroyed a great deal of other property.

"The young men, who were holding Molotov cocktails, threw them at the houses, which began to go up in flames, one after another," said Buthaina Sha'aban, a Taybeh resident and the sister of the town's mayor. "They vandalized parked cars and beat village residents who went out into the streets. Entire families were thrown into the street after their homes were torched. Not much remains of their property. We urge all international, Israeli, and Palestinian activists to intervene and protect village residents from the Muslim rage."

The attackers also torched stores, a farm, and a gas station. The latter fire was put out before fuel tanks exploded. Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen who arrived on the scene also managed to save the village's famous beer factory.

Later, the Palestinian governor of the Ramallah area visited the scene to try to soothe tempers, as did several senior Christian clerics. Most Taybeh residents are either Catholic or Greek Orthodox.

PA security sources said that the rampage was triggered by an incident last week in which a 23-year-old woman was killed by her relatives because they suspected her of carrying on a romance with a Christian man from Taybeh. The woman was quickly buried, but on September 6 the PA police exhumed the body for an autopsy.

GREEK ORTHODOX ELECT NEW HOLY LAND PATRIARCH (8/22)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL has reported that the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land has elected a new patriarch to replace its deposed spiritual leader patriarch Irineos who was dismissed over a land scandal that angered the church's local parishioners and embarrassed its leadership. The church's Holy Synod voted 14 to 0 to elect Metropolitan Theofilos, a Greek-born cleric, as the new patriarch. The election throws into fresh doubt the fate of Irineos, who has refused to accept a decision earlier this year by his bishops and the leader's of the world's Orthodox churches to dismiss him over controversial property deals in Jerusalem's Old City.

13 CLERICS APPLY FOR GREEK PATRIARCH’S POST (7/22)
Thirteen Greek Orthodox clerics have offered their candidacy to become the church's patriarch of the Holy Land in another blow to Irineos I, who has fought to hold on to the title despite being deposed by his Holy Synod and leaders of the world's Orthodox churches. According to the ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL service, the synod convened in Jerusalem on 20 July to begin selecting a replacement for Irineos. Twenty-three members attended the meeting and three participated via teleconference from Jordan. The meeting went ahead after an Israeli court rejected a petition by Irineos to issue an injunction against the election of a successor.

PALESTINIAN LEADER
ISSUES DECREE TO OUST GREEK PATRIARCH (7/12)
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has officially withdrawn recognition from Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos I in a step that may force the embattled patriarch to heed the decision of his bishops and resign, according to ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL. "We have decided to issue a decree to dismiss Irineos I from his position as the patriarch of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and to revoke all rights and privileges which go with this position," Abbas said.

PALESTINIAN INQUIRY
SAYS PATRIARCH NOT LINKED TO LAND DEAL (7/5)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL service is reporting that a Palestinian Authority committee of inquiry has cleared Irineos, the deposed Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, of accusations that he was involved in leasing church property to Jewish investors. The findings could mean Irineos will be able to hold on to his job as patriarch despite being disowned in May by leaders of the world's Orthodox churches and deposed by his own bishops over the land scandal.

GREEK ORTHODOX BISHOPS
DEMOTE DEPOSED JERUSALEM PATRIARCH (6/17)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL news service has reported that Irineos I, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land deposed by his church last month, has been demoted to the rank of monk by a council of bishops. Irineos has been mired in scandal over allegations he approved a controversial land deal that angered the local church's mostly Palestinian parishioners. He has denied involvement in the land scandal in which church property was leased to Jewish investors and has refused to step down, despite a decision in May by leaders of the world's 300 million strong Orthodox churches to stop recognizing him as patriarch.

JORDAN AND PALESTINIANS
APPROVE OUSTER OF JERUSALEM PATRIARCH (5/13)
The Ecumenical News International reports that Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have approved the ousting of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy Land in a decision likely to see him forced from office. The Jordanian and Palestinian governments have accepted a ruling by the church's bishops to dismiss Patriarch Irineos I after allegations that he authorized the long-term lease of church property in Jerusalem's Old City to Jewish investors.

GREEK ORTHODOX
PATRIARCH FACES NEW PRESSURES IN JERUSALEM (5/4)
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL is reporting that the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has come under fresh pressure to resign following new accusations that he authorized a controversial land sale deal to win favor with Israel. Patriarch Irineos I has been accused of selling church property in Jerusalem to Jewish investors. He claims that a former financial adviser would have made any sales, without his permission.

PA SEEKS REMOVAL OF GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCH (3/23)
The Palestinian Authority has decided to send a delegation to Greece to seek the dismissal of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Land due to a scandal over the reported sale of land in Jerusalem to Jewish buyers. According to ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL, Palestinian lawmakers have voted in a meeting to seek the "expulsion" of Patriarch Irineos and to claim all the property owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the Holy Land as belonging to its mainly Arab parishioners.

CHRISTIANS IN ISRAELI TOWN
TRICKLE BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER DRUZE ATTACKS (3/21)
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL reports that Christian children are gradually returning to classes at their schools in the Galilee town of Maghar in northern Israel, a month after Christians were attacked and their property looted in the worst sectarian violence for years.

Druze-Arab villagers attacked their Christian-Arab neighbors, beating them, burning several homes and looting shops after rumors swept through the village that Christian schoolboys had posted naked photographs of Druze girls on the Internet.

VATICAN ENVOY URGES
CHRISTIANS TO RETURN TO GALILEE VILLAGE (2/22)
The ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL reports that the Vatican’s envoy to Israel has held a special Mass at the Galilee town of Maghar where dozens of Christian homes were torched and shops looted in rioting by Druze-Arabs last week. "From now on the Pope as well as myself, the authorities of all the Christian churches worldwide and all the world will fix a watchful eye on Maghar to check the dignity and safety of the Christians," Archbishop Pietro Sambi told thousands of Christians, including several bishops, who attended the service.

DANISH CHURCH HOLY LAND PROJECT
AIMS TO HELP BOTH ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS (2/16/05)
Strengthening the Christian communities in the Palestinian territories will improve the chances for peace in the Middle East, a Danish church leader who has been instrumental in such efforts says in an news story from the ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL. "It is important for Israel that the Christian communities in Palestine be supported because historically they have been the reconcilers," the Rev. Anders Gadegaard told a media briefing on the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

CHRISTIANS CONCERNED
OVER DISAPPEARANCE OF COMMUNITIES (11/12)
The Christian world is increasingly afraid of the virtual disappearance of their communities in the Holy Land, Motti Levy, Christian and Arab affairs adviser to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, said on November 10.

"The ever-dwindling numbers of Christians living in the Holy Land in general and in Jerusalem [in particular] is cause for concern in the Christian world that the Christian communities here will disappear," the mayor's newly appointed adviser for religious communities in Israel told the JERUSALEM POST.

About 10,000 Christians live in Jerusalem, a city with nearly 700,000 residents, he said.

Though small in number, the Christian community does not view itself as a minority, because of the strong backing it receives from the Christian world as well as the guarantees of freedom of religion and worship afforded by the Israeli government, Levy said.

Many, however, who live in Muslim areas of east Jerusalem feel unwanted, Levy said. He noted that the situation was even more severe for Christians living in Palestinian Authority-ruled areas of the West Bank, such as the once predominantly Christian city of Bethlehem, which has seen a mass exodus of Christians.

ISRAEL TRIES TO MAKE VISITS TO BETHLEHEM EASIER (8/23)
The Tourism Ministry is planning a huge transit station between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to make visits by tourists and Christian pilgrims between the two holy cities smoother, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Minister of Tourism Gideon Ezra said that talks are currently underway with Palestinian Authority officials in Bethlehem to make access to the town of Christ's birth more accessible. "I want for a pilgrim to Israel not to have any fear of traveling to Bethlehem and returning to Israel," Ezra said. "We want the Christian world to see that Jerusalem is safe for tourists and that the passage to Bethlehem and that city is safe too."

Two weeks ago 2,500 Korean pilgrims defied their government's travel warning and visited Bethlehem and it was very successful, Ezra noted. Israelis are completely barred from entering the town, under orders from OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplansky.

CHRISTIANS, JEWS JOIN FORCES IN ISRAEL (7/14)
In an unprecedented move, the World Jewish Congress has teamed up with the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus to foster the growing relationship between Christians and the state of Israel, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. "This is the first time that Knesset members and a major world Jewish organization, as well as a wide spectrum of Christian organizations, have banded together to create a Jerusalem-based coalition of Christians and Jews," Bobby Brown, the director of international relations at the World Jewish Congress, said at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Tuesday night marking the new cooperation between the groups.

The Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus, established in January with 12 MKs from six parties, aims to garner the support of, and work with, Christians around the world. "For the past six month, we have been building the foundation for this historical and unprecedented alliance between Christians and Jews," caucus director Josh Reinstein said. Both Israelis and MKs from across the political spectrum are increasingly realizing the importance of this relationship, he added.

CHRISTIAN EXODUS IS TROUBLING (5/28/04)
Increasing Christian emigration from the Holy Land in general and Bethlehem in particular is troubling to the Vatican, Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, said in Jerusalem on May 27.

According to THE JERUSALEM POST, Kasper was speaking to reporters in the course of a visit with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, to whom he conveyed the greetings of Pope John Paul II, saying: "Jewish-Christian relations are very close to his heart." Kasper also reminded Katsav that all forms of anti-Semitism and violations of human rights had been condemned by the Second Vatican Council.

On the issue of Christian emigration from Bethlehem and the gradual Muslim takeover, Kasper acknowledged that the Church is worried, particularly because Christians have lived in the Holy Land throughout the centuries and have made important contributions to cultural developments. Christians have also come on pilgrimage for centuries, he noted, stating: "We don't want dead stones; we want living communities." Even if Bethlehem's Christian community continues to diminish, he said, the Church is determined to remain.

KNESSET CHRISTIANS ALLIES CAUCUS GAINING MOMENTUM (2/24)
The Speaker of the Knesset, Ruben Rivlin, welcomed a crowded room of some 35 members and guests of the Christians Allies Caucus at the Knesset on February 24, among them Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican's Nuncio to Israel, and Robert Stearns, Director of Eagles Wings' international ministries. Speaker Rivlin praised the Christian community for its staunch support of the State of Israel and expressed his pleasure at the creation of the Caucus, saying it was long overdue as a Knesset institution.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Bridges for Peace, and Christian Friends of Israel, the three major Christian organizations with ongoing operations in Israel, announced the first joint charitable program between Christians and the Knesset, which will be providing 6,000 families in financial need with matzah (unleavened bread) and grape juice for their Passover Seders. Clarence Wagner, Chairman and President of Bridges for Peace, said "Today, the members of the Christian Allies Caucus met with leading members of the Christian Church in the West - Protestant and Catholic. The enthusiasm expressed by all present about working together for Israel through the Caucus will impact the future of Christian/Jewish relations worldwide."

Archbishop Sambi (Papal representative) stressed the need for opposing anti-Semitism in all its forms. "We must understand that if Christians separate themselves from their roots, they cannot be complete as Christians. We must make anti-Semitism a sin, and those who practice it should be considered traitors."

"Everyone present today felt the energy. The Caucus' promise of cooperation and coordination between Christians and Jews is exceeding the earlier expectations of the most optimistic among us. I have no doubt the Jewish /Christian partnership we are creating here will make itself felt around the world. With friends like these, Israel can face the challenges ahead with new confidence and optimism," said Caucus Chairman Yuri Shtern.

ISRAEL APPROVES ELECTION OF GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCH (1/26)
ECUMENICAL NEWS INTERNATIONAL reports that Israel finally approved on Sunday the appointment of the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, Irineos I, ending a struggle for recognition of more than two years. The Greek-born patriarch was elected by a synod of bishops in August 2001 but was not initially accepted by Israel because of his reported warm ties with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

KNESSET OFFERS CHRISTIANS NEW STANDING IN ISRAEL (1/22)
Leaders of Christian Zionist ministries were invited on January 20 to the inaugural meeting of the new Knesset Christian Allies Caucus to launch what co-chairman Dr. Yuri Shtern termed a political upgrade of relations between Israel and its Christian supporters across the globe. INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN EMBASSY JERUSALEM NEWS SERVICE provided the following report.

The historic moment, the first time the Knesset as an institution has officially acknowledged and engaged with the growing Christian pro-Israel movement worldwide, featured not only many warm mutual greetings, but some rare and unusually frank exchanges as well.

In one instance, the co-chair of the newly formed caucus, MK Yair Peretz of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, who represents a segment of society that maintains little contact with Christians, made a sincere appeal for Christian assistance to help Israel meet the needs of its poorest communities during these tough times. Peretz suggested that due to the nation's budget constraints, Christians could perhaps distribute Passover baskets to needy secular families this spring and school bag kits to underprivileged children at the start of classes next fall.

Meantime, Gadi Golan of the Foreign Ministry's Religious Affairs Department delivered an impassioned plea that the Israeli government across the board should stop overlooking their Christian friends and especially that they should cease humiliating Christians in the land with visa and tax problems. "As Israelis, we should know the terrible mistakes we have committed, and yet these beautiful people keep going on quietly with their many kind works among us," said Golan.

The Knesset Christian Allies' Caucus is the outgrowth of an idea that had been brewing over recent years among Israeli lawmakers, particularly after broad segments of Christianity aligned to stop the construction of a provocative mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. But through MK Shtern's efforts, the caucus was rushed into being in recent weeks after a number of Christian expatriates residing in Israel ran into difficulties renewing visas in the second half of 2003.

Shtern apologized for the visa situation, citing last autumn's long civil servants' strike and Israel's restrictive policies in dealing with security concerns and illegal workers. "We have to and will keep working on it, however" insisted Shtern.

"We will not be demanding that Christians adopt any particular political viewpoint on the conflict here," said Shtern in clarifying the goals of the caucus. "We simply are reaching out to Christians who support Israel on the basis of our fundamental right to live here in peace and security."

In a statement, the caucus members said they would seek to (1) recognize and further mobilize those Christians around the world who are contributing to the security of the State of Israel and the welfare of the Jewish people, (2) bring to the attention of the Israeli public the unqualified support Christians are giving to Jewish aspirations in the Land of Israel, and (3) provide Christian and Israeli leaders with a Knesset forum for face-to-face encounters and enhanced co-operation.

Over recent decades, the Christian groups represented have been working to build political and moral support for Israel in national and international arenas, to assist and encourage Jews making aliyah (immigration), and to provide social and material assistance to poor and needy communities in Israel and Palestinian areas. The caucus members said they would now begin to develop joint welfare projects with the participating Christian Allies that could be given high-profile launches from the Knesset itself, while also enlisting Christian support for new informational efforts to improve Israel's standing internationally, with an urgent need to focus on Europe.

PALESTINE AND SHARIA LAW (1/14)
From Clarence Wagner, International Chairman of BRIDGES FOR PEACE, comes the following report:

The recent publication of the planned constitution for a State of Palestine did not define the country as a secular democratic country, as Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian leadership continue to tell the West, but rather an Islamic state with Sharia Law as the basis of the justice system. Sharia law is Islamic law based on the Koran and is rife with capital punishment for a variety of offences and dismemberment for theft. It is also discriminatory against minorities, especially Christians and Jews.

Pakistan is one such country. Read the following account of how Christians are treated there:

"KHANEWAL, Pakistan: The body of a Christian pastor was found at the Khanewal Railway Station in Pakistan on Jan. 5, 2004. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was gun shot wounds to the chest, according to the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA).

Family members say Rev. Mukhtar Masih, 50, left home at 3:00 that morning to take a train to Lahore. His dead body was found one hour later, and none of his personal belongings taken. The victim's son, Mr. Musa Mukhtar, reported that his father recently received death threats from local Muslim extremists, and in the past, some of these extremists asked police to ban speakers from his father's church.

On Jan. 6, Christians in Khanewal gathered to protest the pastor's murder, condemn the continued violence against Pakistan's religious minorities, and criticize the failure of law enforcement and judicial agencies to protect them. During the protest, demonstrators carried Masih's body to the Office of the District Administrator of Kharampura demanding a police investigation. To date, no one has been arrested in connection with the murder. Masih leaves behind a wife, a son, and six daughters. Members of the APMA say they will continue to investigate the incident and forward their findings to local authorities.

At least 45 Christians have been killed and over 90 injured in terrorist attacks on Pakistani Christians since September 2001. The leaders of Pakistan's non-Muslim minority groups accuse the Government of Islamabad of maintaining conditions for violence by upholding a discriminatory system of "religious apartheid." Pakistan's Christian community is estimated to number 3.8 million people.

Pakistan was created in 1947 as the first modern state to be founded on the basis of religion. It became an Islamic state based on discriminatory Shariah law.

Before the arrival of Yassar Arafat and his regime that has unleashed Islamic fundamental groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Bethlehem had a majority Christian population. Today, the numbers have been estimated to be about 5% of the population. Through intimidation, including the targeted shooting and killing of Christians, and lack of jobs and a future in this Palestinian State, many Christians have left to move into Israel or with family in Western nations.

This has all happened before the creation of a Palestinian State. Now, if one is created with Sharia Law, I fear that Christianity in the Palestinian Authority will be a memory of the past. It is time Christians speak up about this travesty and the plans of the Palestinian leadership to decimate our religious communities.

CHRISTIAN POPULATION IN ISRAEL RISES TO 142,000 (12/25)
According to the JERUSALEM POST, approximately 142,000 Christians live in Israel, or 2.1 percent of the general population, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced December 24. The majority, approximately 81%, or 115,000, are Christian Arabs. The rest, some 27,000, immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return. A few thousand arrived during the waves of Aliyah in the Seventies and Eighties from Romania and Poland. Most arrived in the wave of Aliyah in the 1990s from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. The majority of Christians, 83,000, live in the North. Approximately 20,000 live in Nazareth. Compared to Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs have a lower birth rate, a higher percentage of people over the age of 65, and other demographics that more closely resemble those of the Jewish population, CBS reported.

Sample of Christian population according to location and population:
Nazareth – 20,000 (32.9% of the overall population); Haifa – 16,400 (6% of the overall population); Jerusalem – 14,400 (2.2% of the overall population); Shfaram – 8,100 (27.6% of the overall population); Tel Aviv – 5,000 (1.4% of the overall population); Upper Nazareth – 3,500 (8.0% of the overall population); Ramle – 2,700 (4.4% of the overall population).

JERUSALEM DISTRIBUTES CHRISTMAS TREES (12/23)
The Jerusalem Municipality distributed five hundred free Christmas trees at the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City today, HA'ARETZ reported. "The distribution of pine trees for Christmas is a tradition of over 20 years for the Municipality of Jerusalem," said municipal spokesman Hagai Elias. The trees were donated by the Jewish National Fund.

PRIESTS ESCAPE CHURCH, TALK OF "SHOCKING SIGHTS" (4/23)
Israeli and PA officials continue to meet to negotiate an end to the Church of the Nativity situation. It has now been three weeks since 100 to 200 armed Arabs blasted their way into the Bethlehem Church of the Nativity. They have been holding a few dozen priests and nuns as hostages, refusing Israeli demands to give themselves up.

Three Armenian priests managed to reach a roof of the church this morning, holding a large sign reading, "Help Us." The Israeli army noticed them and helped them escape. The priests told of "shocking sights" inside the church, including the beating by terrorists of some Christian clergy last night, as well as vandalism and thefts by the armed Arabs. The priests also said that hunger is beginning to have its effect on several of the prisoners.

The Israelis have offered a choice to the 30 wanted terrorists inside the church: Either they give themselves up or be deported to a foreign country. Israel says that several dozen other armed Arabs can surrender their weapons and go free. The terrorists, however, demand to be allowed to go to Gaza.

Ibrahim Abayat and Ismail Hamdan, murderers of American citizen Avi Boaz, are reportedly among the terrorists currently hiding behind nuns and monks in the Church of Nativity.

PALESTINIAN MUSLIM MOB ASSAULTS CHRISTIANS (2/19)
A Palestinian Moslem mob - including the Palestinian Authority's Bashir Naafeh Special Force - assaulted Ramallah Christians during January 31-February 1, 2002. The anti-Christian pogrom took place half a mile away from Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah.

During the pogrom, the Moslem mob burnt downed apartments and stores owned by Christians, attempted to burn down the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches (doors and windows shattered), set on fire the sport and civic halls of the historic Ramallah Scout Brigade (mostly Christian) and attempted to destroy the Christian-owned Arak Joubran winery.

The pogrom was triggered by an assault of Moslem refugees - at the Kalandia refugee camp - on a Christian butcher from Ramallah, who refused to pay "protection money" on his way to his home in Ramallah. In the process of escaping his assailants, the victim stabbed to death one of the Moslem terrorists at the Protection Post (a regular feature in PLO-controlled areas).

The aforementioned pogrom was not the first case of Christian harassment - in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Beit Jallah and Beit Sakhour - to be sanctioned by the Palestinian Authority.

Christian Palestinians are currently plagued by the oppressive legacy of the PLO in Lebanon (1970-1982), which has accelerated the flight of Christians away from the formerly Christian dominated Lebanon.

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