How Still We See Thee Lie?

Bethlehem, that supposedly sleeping little town that traditionally is said to be the place of Jesus' birth is not so sleepy. As Christians make preparations in Bethlehem for Christmas, they are still having to contend with Palestinian gunmen.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Palestinian gunmen briefly seized Bethlehem city hall, overlooking the Church of the Nativity, on Tuesday in a jarring interruption to Christmas preparations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

The incident, five days before Christmas, was another sign of growing lawlessness in Palestinian territories and the turmoil within Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction ahead of a January parliamentary election.

About 20 gunmen from Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades fanned out on rooftops and in the offices of city hall, firing several shots in the air and forcing workers out. They demanded money and jobs for about 320 members.MSNBC

This conjures up images of when the Palestinians went on a rampage in 2002. They stormed into the Church of the Nativity. A little background information is needed to understand why this is so upsetting.

...The group [Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group] does, however, support the widespread accusation that Islamic militants specifically chose Christian homes as firing posts during fighting near Bethlehem in 2002.
"The belief of Islamic extremists that Westerners sympathize more with Christian suffering has led some militants to initiate shooting from Christian areas like Beit Jala, in order to force an Israeli reprisal," the group wrote in a 2004 report.

For Mr Eid, a Muslim, the root of the problem is "the lack of a culture of minority rights" in the Palestinian territories.

"Muslims believe in resistance - and Christians also do, but in a non-violent way. We know they are less violent than the Muslims. It seems we are not giving the Christians the opportunity to express their opinion," he says.

"It makes me sad that they are suffering from their Palestinian brothers, as well as from the occupation."...Solomonia

Christians, as minorities in Palestinian controlled Bethlehem have few rights and are frequent targets of Muslim Palestinians. Land is stolen from them. They are beaten. They are driven from their homes.

Living amidst a xenophobic Muslim population plagued by endemic violence bordering on anarchy, the Christians have shrunk to less than 1.7 percent of the population in the Palestinian areas. “Tens of thousands have abandoned their holy sites and ancestral properties to live abroad, while those who remain do so as a beleaguered and dwindling minority," Weiner said.Clarity&Resolve

I know the unrighteous members of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have pulled such stunts as these in Gaza. What is so alarming about this is that it was so close to the Church of the Nativity and seems to forbode more violence on the horizon, perhaps directed at those trying to celebrate Christmas peacefully. There is little tolerance for those of other faiths when those of the Islamic faith are in control. Sometimes the choice is you die or pay the jizyah.