(New York Post) Benny Avni - Bethlehem is fast losing its last few year-round Christian residents as rising Islamism pushes non-Muslims away. Islamists frown on real-estate ownership by non-Muslims - Christian, Jew or anything else. And though the secular Palestinian Authority still controls the West Bank, the clout of groups like Hamas is growing and in Bethlehem, Christians are ceding the land. Growing numbers of rural Muslim West Bankers from the Hebron area have moved to Bethlehem in recent years, where many increasingly buy or confiscate land. Seeing the trend, many Christians have decided to sell while they still can. There are frequent attacks on Christian cemeteries and churches; Christian-owned businesses are often defaced - and government jobs have grown scarce for non-Muslims.
2009-12-24 08:32:38Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive