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Palestinian Christians Ongoing Forcible Displacement and Dispossession… Until When?

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Palestinian Christians Ongoing Forcible Displacement and Dispossession… Until When? Palestinian Christians Ongoing forcible displacement and dispossession… until when? Palestinians and international supporters at a weekly vigil in solidarity with Cremisan Monastery whose lands are threatened by the Israeli Annexation Wall. (Photo by Kairos Palestine) Palestinian Christians Ongoing forcible displacement and dispossession… until when? Published by: December 2012 Palestinian Christians - Ongoing forcible displacement and dispossession… until when? ©BADIL/Kairos Palestine, December 2012 Research Team: Amjad Alqasis; Simon Reynolds; Martha Tonsern. Design and Layout: Atallah Salem Printing: al-Ayyam Printing, Press, Publishing, and Distribution Company ISBN: 978-9950-339-34-7 Publisher: BADIL/ Kairos Palestine © All Rights Reserved Cover Photo: Graffiti on Israel’s Annexation Wall in Bethlehem. (Photo by BADIL/RW) Credit and Notations Many thanks to Nora Carmi, Rifat Kassis, Najwa Darwish, Yasmine Khoury, Brona Higgins and all who have supported BADIL and Kairos Palestine throughout this research project and in particular to all interview partners who have set the foundation for this publication. We would also like to thank Father Dr. Jamal Daibes for contributing the theological reflection. Any quotation of up to 500 words may be used without permission provided that full attribution is given. Longer quotations or entire chapters or sections of this study may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature, without the express written permission of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Right or Kairos Palestine. Introduction For over 2000 years, the city of Jerusalem and the town of Bethlehem have held a The earth is the LORD’s, and deeply significant, enduring connection everything in it, the world, and all with one another. This connection is who live in it (Ps 24, 1) forged by cornerstone events of the ،Christian faith – those of the birth crucifixion and resurrection of Christ – but also by virtue of geographical proximity This paper seeks to draw attention to the and the strong relationships between the forcible displacement of the Palestinian Christian communities there, and in the people and the resulting human impact surrounding areas. However, the Israeli on the overall population, though with a military occupation of Palestine and the particular focus on the Christian element. accompanying construction of the illegal For this purpose, a general overview of Annexation Wall and its associated regime the situation will be provided, alongside have served to fracture this connection, a series of case studies concerning the with Jerusalem and Bethlehem now personal experiences of Christian families physically separated on opposing sides in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Finally, the of a barrier which is impregnable to the paper will present recommendations on majority of the Palestinian Christian the issue at hand. Each case study will seek community. to explore and explain a key issue, with Recent research places the number of each supported by powerful testimony individuals within this community at a from members of the Palestinian Christian figure in excess of 51,000. population. These testimonies are drawn from extensive interviews conducted Regarding Christian localities in terms of between August-October 2012 by Kairos concentration, the Bethlehem Governorate Palestine and BADIL Resource Center for is home to the highest percentage of Palestinian Residency Rights and Refugee Christians in Palestine (43.4%), followed Rights. The names of the individuals who by the Ramallah Governorate (24.7%), and provided these testimonies have been 1 Jerusalem (17.9%). changed, as in each case the participant fears that their involvement in this project 1 Kassis, Rifat; Al Qass Collings, Rania; Raheb, Mitri: may draw negative reprisals on behalf of Palestinian Christians in the West Bank – Facts, the Israeli authorities. We thank each one Figures and Trends (Second revised edition), Bethlehem: Diyar Publisher (2012) p.10. for their courage. 5 Theological Reflection All human beings have the same dignity and rights, regardless of race, sex, nationality or religion. Denying individuals or groups God created the earth and everything in it, their rights based purely on the fact that and then, after creating the human beings they are Palestinian is contrary to the plan in His image and resemblance, He said: of God for his creatures. Sacrificing the “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill lives, rights and dignity of human beings the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish for the land is contrary to the plan of God, in the sea and the birds in the sky and over as He created the land for the benefit every living creature that moves on the of human beings, not the opposite. The ground”. God created the earth for benefit prophets warn us against the “idolatry of of men and women. the land”, as we read in Kings 21. Palestinians and international supporters at a weekly vigil in solidarity with Cremisan Monastery whose lands are threatened by the Israeli Annexation Wall. (Photo by Kairos Palestine) 6 In 1 Kings 21, we read: “Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. 5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is your spirit so sad, that you eat no bread? 6 And he said unto her, Because I spoke to Naboth, and said to him, Give me your vineyard… and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard… 7 Jezebel his wife said to him…: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, “proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: 10 and set two men before him, to bear witness against him, saying, you blasphemed against God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.11 And the men of his city [did what Jezebel told them]. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died… 15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, she said to Ahab: “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth to take possession of it. 17 The word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,18 Go down to meet Ahab, the king of Israel: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. (1 Kings 18, 17.20). 7 The king abused his power in order to occupying power. Unfortunately, up to dispossess Naboth from his land. Ahab this very day Israel has never been held used false accusations, killed Naboth and properly accountable for these systematic took a land that did not belong to him. The violations. This unacceptable situation Bible calls this act “following idols”. within the overall international community must be brought to an end. This deliberate The story of Naboth tells our story as strategy of forcible displacement amounts Palestinians. We are dispossessed of to a policy and practice of forcible our land through the use of force and/or transfer of the Palestinian population false documents; we suffer at the hands that began in 1948 with the Palestinian of an unjust juridical system, and we are Nakba where 750,000 Palestinians were driven from our lands. This is not only made refugees. However, this process of what happened in the past, but this sin forcible displacement is ongoing and has of injustice continues today, violating the so far resulted in approximately 65% of the commands of the Bible. Palestinian population worldwide being made refugees and/or Internally Displaced 2 Forced Population Transfer Persons. The Palestinian population is exposed to 2 See BADIL, Palestinian Refugees and Internally daily human rights violations by the Israeli Displaced Persons Survey of 2010 - 2012 (2012) p. 3. 8 Forced population transfer or forcible 13% is already built up.3 As the Palestinian displacement can be defined as a population of Jerusalem continues to practice or policy having the purpose grow steadily, it has had no option but to or effect of moving persons into or out expand into areas not zoned for Palestinian of an area, either within or across an residence by the State of Israel. All such international border. Forced population homes are now under the constant threat transfer is illegal and has constituted of demolition by the Israeli army or police, an international crime since the Allied which will leave their inhabitants homeless Resolution on German War Crimes and displaced. adopted in 1942. The strongest and most recent codification of the crime is found in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which clearly defines forcible transfer of population and implantation of settlers as war crimes as 3 OCHA-OPT, Demolitions and Forced Displacement stipulated in Articles 7 and 8.
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