Ahmad El Achwal was returning to his home in Askar Refugee Camp near the West Bank city of Nablus, after hard day’s work as a cook at a Jerusalem fast-food stand. As he approached the entrance to his home, four masked gunmen approached and opened fire, killing him. On the streets of the West Bank and Gaza, where the rule of law is that there are no rules and no law, this type of rough justice is regularly meted out by Palestinian Authority (PA) ‘security’ forces and other militias. It is a common method of social control and a very effective deterrent to communal crime.
Muslim-born, Ahmad El Achwal was a convert to Christianity. His home was an informal Christian center, where he handed out Christian literature and informed others in his community about his new-found faith.
Ahmad El Achwal was introduced to Christianity by a fellow prisoner in Central Nablus prison. He had been accused by the PA of dealing in stolen gold, charges for which he was later tried and acquitted. Once word of his conversion to Christianity spread, he was repeatedly harassed and abused. PA ‘security’ forces searched his home, confiscated his Christian bibles and other religious books, interrogated him for days and arrested him for long periods, promising an end to his suffering and even a job within the PA if he would return to Islam.
Ahmad El Achwal was repeatedly beaten. His life and the life of his family were threatened. His car and home were fire-bombed by men affiliated with PA security forces. The landlord of the fast-food shop he rented refused to renew his rental agreement, forcing him out of business. In order to feed his wife and eight children, he had to work away from his home, in distant Jerusalem. Despite his suffering and personal peril, Ahmad El Achwal continued to profess his Christian faith – and eventually paid with his life for the simple desire to live according to his conscience.
Muslim apostasy and proselytizing for Christianity are intolerable affronts to the norms and traditions in PA-controlled areas. Though the PA publicly proclaims protection of religious freedom, Islamic law (Shari’a) has been adopted into the PA Constitution and is the primary legal source governing everyone under PA rule, regardless of their religious beliefs.
The Shari’a considers conversion from Islam can be punishable by death, which may explain why Ahmad El Achwal’s murderers were never found, never brought to justice, never sought by the local authorities. Just like members of the Comtsieh, Azizeh and numerous other Christian families, Mr. El Achwal became another unacknowledged victim in the on-going campaign of persecution that has been the plight of Christians living under PA rule in the West Bank and Gaza.
Since the PA gained control of West Bank and Gaza in 1994, the Christian population has suffered increasing social, cultural and financial marginalization. In a culture where social status and survival are dependent upon the benevolence and protection of the ruling authority, the PA’s apparent indifference toward on-going abuse against members of their community means that Christians are powerless…and easy prey.
A few Christian websites and academic monographs have been the main outlets for regular reports about the increasingly precarious life for Christians in PA-controlled areas.
- The demographic destruction of the Christian-majority towns of Bethlehem, Beit Jalla and Beit Sahour has resulted in a drop in the Christian population from 60% to less than 30% in the past decade - and their numbers continue to decline.
- The boycott of Christian-owned businesses, especially around Manger Square in Bethlehem, has been particularly severe. Owners are targeted for extortion and bribery by various ‘security’ forces and the PA.
- The confiscation of Christian-owned property by force, intimidation and through fraudulent land deals (some involving senior PA officials) are validated by courts indifferent to Christian property claims.
- The widespread verbal and physical abuse of Christian women. Some Christian women no longer feel safe walking in the streets unaccompanied by a family.
- Christian women in the Bethlehem area have been instructed to adopt Muslim head coverings and conservative dress to deter harassment.
- The rape of Christian women is an open secret, hushed up to save family honor. A few cases, such as the Amr sisters and Rawan Mansour from Beit Sahour, have come to light. In the extremely conservative Palestinian society, such violation is the ultimate humiliation of both the victim and her family. The victim becomes unfit for marriage and childbearing – a particularly brutal method of both reducing the Christian population and in some instances, forcing her family to offer her in marriage to her rapist.
- The desecrations of Christian relics, holy sites and cemeteries, encouraged through incitement against Christians by religious leaders and the PA.
Due to fear of reprisals, the abuse often goes unreported. It is recounted mainly in off-the-record conversations, which are viewed as unconfirmed “allegations” – and therefore discounted, dismissed and largely ignored by Church officials, human rights organizations and the Western media.
An incident in September of this year highlights the hostility Christians face. Hundreds of armed men descended on the Christian city of Taibe, terrorized the community for hours, set sixteen homes and multiple businesses on fire, looted valuables, and destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary. And the reason for this attack? A Muslim woman from their neighboring village of Deir Jarir was accused of having a relationship with a Christian man from Taibe.
Western government officials, so forthright in their concern for human rights in other areas, have remained curiously non-committal about the treatment and increasing peril of Christians living in PA-controlled areas. The European Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other non-government organizations (NGOs) and the UN seem to have similar financial and political motives which fuels their disregard.
The US State Department’s Report on Human Rights and International Religious Freedom Report have been ambiguous, vague and tended to downplay the extent of harassment of Christians in PA-controlled areas. The reasons are unclear; perhaps due to the US deep investment in the peace process, wanting to avoid discrediting the PA, a major recipient of US aid. In Ahmad El Achwal’s case, while State Department officials had met with him and received updates about his case, to date, his murder has yet to be addressed by State Department reports.
International and local church officials also tend to react with indifference to the treatment of Christians. In some cases, local church officials perversely blame Christians themselves for their plight. This may serve as one explanation for the widening gap between the religious leadership and lay community. A public opinion poll performed by a Christian academic found that only 48% of Christians trusted their religious leaders.
David Parsons, Spokesperson for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, described the situation for Christians living under PA rule as “desperate”. “Due to their minority status, Christians suffer oppression and intimidation by the PA and powerful Muslim clans. They are frustrated that their grievances are ignored, that their bishops and pastors remain silent about their plight. They don’t want to abandon their ancient heritage, but as a tiny, powerless minority, they are being forced out.”
The Christians of the Holyland seem to be the very real sacrificial lambs on the altar of the nebulous Middle East peace process. A flock abandoned by their co-religionists for political and financial self-interest.
As the Christmas season approaches, these Christians deserve the best Christmas present they could possibly receive – acknowledgement of their plight. Shouldn’t the season of peace on earth encourage people of goodwill to demand action to protect Christians in the Holyland?
Copyright © Jeanine Hirschhorn.