Gaza Christians Long For Days Before Hamas Cancelled Christmas

[JStone]

Gaza Christians Long For Days Before Hamas Cancelled Christmas.
Since the Palestinian Authority left the Gaza Strip, festive celebrations and displays of crucifixes have become taboo

When the Latin patriarch came to Gaza's Holy Family church to celebrate Christmas mass last week, he instructed a full house of Catholic and Orthodox families to pray for reconciliation. As the archbishop, Fouad Twal, stood at the lectern in Gaza City, Fatah and Hamas leaders were meeting in Cairo attempting to mend differences that have divided the Palestinian factions for four years and rendered Gaza a besieged Islamist enclave.

Of the 1.5 million Palestinians now living in the Gaza Strip, fewer than 1,400 are Christian and those who can are leaving. The church hopes reconciliation will bring them back.

There hasn't been a Christmas tree in Gaza City's main square since Hamas pushed the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza in 2007 and Christmas is no longer a public holiday.

Imad Jelda is an Orthodox Christian who runs a youth training centre in Gaza City. With unemployment hovering at 23%, he has seen young Christian men leave to study and work abroad in their droves. "People here do not celebrate Christmas anymore because they are nervous," Jelda said. "The youth in particular have a fear inside themselves."

This is not a Christian environment. There are no good universities, there is no opportunity to work, no apartments to rent and so no way we can get married. We have no future here."

Cont'd: Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[JStone]

Allah, oh our Lord
Vanquish your enemies, enemies of the religion [Islam]
in all places
Allah, strike the Jews and their sympathizers,
the Christians and their supporters
Allah, count them and kill them to the last one,
and don't even leave even one.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrI8-qb9M9A]Hamas: Kill Christians and Jews "to the last one" - YouTube[/ame]

 

[JStone]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adeKtTlejNY]Christians under Siege in Gaza - UN Silent - YouTube[/ame]

 

[JStone]

Reverend Majed el Shafie, One Free World Intl..

Hamas was going to the graveyards of the Christians, digging up the dead body of the Christians, throwing them and burning them and saying 'you cannot bury your dead bodies here because its our land, it's a holy land.

Christian families are being forced to cooperate with Hamas or their children or their wives will get raped or will get persecuted.

The Christians in the Palestinian Authority areas [are] facing persecutions. Their homes, their churches they get attacked almost every day

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9BazI-_js]Muslim Palestinians Desecrate Christian Graves - UN Silent - YouTube[/ame]