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Several Palestinian Christians are being attacked by extremist Islamic Palestinians in fragrant breaches of human rights. In view of this and of the extremist position being adopted by the Palestinian administration I find that the EU is correct in taking some measures on Palestine aimed at exerting pressure towards respect of human rights amongst others.
A report published by Fr Pierbattista Pizzabella, the Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land, states that Palestinian Christians especially in Bethlehem are being attacked, discriminated, robbed, persecuted, molested and even murdered by Hamas and Jihad extremist Muslims, as well as people close to the Palestinian Authority. This report was given front page coverage by the Maltese language weekly ‘Lehen is-Sewwa’ (24 September 2005) and quotes the Franciscan Custodian who mentions 93 cases of injustices of all sorts and 140 cases of land swindles committed against Palestinian Christians by fellow Palestinian Muslims between 2000 and 2004. So much for guaranteed basic rights and freedoms and respect for property by Muslims!
In an interview given to the reputable Italian daily ‘Corriere della Sera’ Fr Pierbattista Pizzabella states: “Almost every day, and I repeat – every single day – our communities are being molested by Muslim extremists in these regions. And if (this persecution) does not come from members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, it originates from people close to the Palestinian Authority… We discovered that among those who attack us there are agents of Mahmoud Abbas police or militants from Fatah, his political party, which supposedly have a duty to defend us.”
According to the Christian Orthodox Samir Qumsieh who founded a Christian terrestrial television with a limited catchment area of Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramallah and Hebron, Palestinian Christians are increasingly facing many cases of fraud and other injustices to which the Palestinian Authority turns a blind eye if the crime is committed by a Muslim! Palestinian Christians are also experiencing vandalism in their churches, on statues and even on the Christian cemetery in Bethlehem. Serious molestations have been also committed on many Christians, even the raping of Christian women.
This is a virtual ethnic cleansing of Holy Land committed against Christians by Muslim extremists. For as a result of these persecutions many Palestinian Christians are leaving their homes to resettle elsewhere where their basic freedoms are truly guaranteed. Until a few years ago the Christian Palestinians accounted for 14% of the population, now they are only 2%!
Yet sadly the news media hardly ever reports on these atrocities committed against Christian Palestinians by Muslim Palestinians, which is a telling mark of the bias of such means of social communication! If we truly want to help other people on their path to democracy we must commend and commiserate with them when this is called for but also witness to principles we hold dear, such as human rights, tolerance and urge them to give them a try.
J Bonett Balzan
Balluta
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