Violence explodes between Palestinians, Israelis
Palestine (MNN) At least 90 people have died in
rocket fire between Israelis and Palestinians into and out of the Gaza Strip. Most casualties have been in Gaza, where some apartment buildings have completely collapsed.
Explosions in Gaza at night. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook.)
The unrest began with the
evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem. Jack Sara, President of
Bethlehem Bible College, says, “What happened recently was related to the confiscation of several houses and a major neighborhood in Jerusalem, called Sheikh Jarrah.”
Over the weekend, Israeli police
stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites. Sara says the violence
Bethlehem Bible College announces Bethlehem institute of Peace and Justice
Palestine (MNN) Hundreds of Palestinians suffered injuries this weekend in clashes with Israeli police in Jerusalem. Dozens of police officer injuries have been reported as well. These conflicts have been fueled by the eviction of Palestinians to make way for new Israeli settlements. Read more
But Andrew Bush with
Bethlehem Bible College says through it all, Palestinian Christians remain committed to peacemaking. That’s why the school is launching the
A vision for peace
Bush says some might ask, why bother making peace in the Middle East? “But Jesus didn’t get that memo. He called us to be peacemakers. And Bethlehem Bible College, out in the midst of its experience of living in the midst of conflict, has just been convinced that the way forward is the way of reconciliation and promoting the dignity of all peoples and justice for all who live in the land.”
Palestine hit by another COVID-19 wave
Palestine (MNN) Palestinians have suffered through a
severe wave of COVID-19. Haytham Dieck with
Bethlehem Bible College says many people connected with the school have fallen sick or seen loved ones die.
Worse yet, Palestine has not received any large numbers of vaccines yet. Dieck says, “The Ministery of Health says they have some, but it’s only a limited number. I mean, in the West Bank you speak about three million people, in the Gaza strip you speak about 2 million. So about 5 million people [need vaccines]. People who were in their 20s and 30s, unfortunately, died because of COVID-19. It’s one of the saddest events ever, for someone alive today in the 21st century, to see all of this going on.”
Image: Majdi Mohammed / AP
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah oon January 22, 2020.
President Mahmoud Abbas has guaranteed that at least seven seats of a new legislative council will go to Christians in the next elections in the Palestinian territories.
Planned for May 22, the elections are hoped to be the first since the militant Hamas movement won the last vote over Abbas’s Fatah party in 2006.
The measure would give Christians, who make up about 1 percent of the population in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, an outsized representation on the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
Palestinian President Abbas gives Christians outsize voice in new legislature religionnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from religionnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.