As Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is set to hold talks on the formation of a new Palestinian government with Hamas leaders, the death toll continues to rise in the West Bank with the latest two killed in an Israeli air strike.
The death toll has risen to 4,957 since the September 2000 Palestinian uprising, according to a count by Agence France Presse, with the majority being Palestinian victims. Abbas and Western powers have renounced the violence of the militant groups which will be a part of the talks today. Recent reports, however, reveal armed militants in Gaza have threatened to blow up the building of the Palestine Bible Society Centre in Gaza city before the end of February.
Flyers containing the threats were distributed last week warning the landlord of the building to evict and shut down the Bible Society operations by Feb. 28 or they would blow up the place. Tenants were also warned to leave.
"We take this very seriously," a spokesman of the Bible Society told the Open Doors ministry. "Their seriousness is already proved by the explosive device militants placed at the door of the Bible Society on Friday night, Feb. 3. Around 11 p.m., the bomb exploded, destroying the steel and glass doors."
The distributed flyers read, "Be aware that we are watching you closely. You spread a doctrine against Islam and are operating a Crusaders' evangelistic campaign supported by the Crusaders from the West."
Christians have been largely marginalised amid the growing strength of Islamic fundamentalism within the Palestinian national movement.
In a new study titled Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society, one Palestinian Christian construction worker from the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jallah stated, "[When] you go to a place when you have the [Muslim] majority, and very few Christians, you might see the way they look at you, they see a cross, you feel that they don't like you or there is something wrong. He feels like a rejected person, and does not belong to this place."
Among the 1.3 million people in Gaza, only 2,000 are Christians.
The Bible Society has alerted Palestinian authorities and the office of Abbas of the threats against them and asked the Church for prayers.
"Further, we call upon the Church to lift us up before the Lord and pray for us. We want to trust in the Lord and His protection. We do not want to give in to the threats of the enemy," said the Bible Society spokesman.
Meanwhile, a long-term Arabic worker also asked for prayers, noting that the situation “is very dangerous and serious.”
“Please pray and stand with the believers of Gaza in this very difficult time," the worker said.
Audrey Barrick
Christian Today Correspondent
