The Truth about Bethlehem

Articles on this Page

• Exiled Palestinian Militants ran two-year reign of terror

• IDF Searches inside the Church of the Nativity

• Of Silence and Scorn

• Greedy "monsters" ruled Church

EXILED PALESTINIAN MILITANTS RAN TWO-YEAR REIGN OF TERROR

By Sayed Anwar, The Washington Times, May 13, 2002


Bethlehem - Residents of this biblical city are expressing relief at the exile to Cyprus last week of 13 hard-core Palestinian militants, who they said had imposed a two-year reign of terror that included rape, extortion and executions.

The 13 sent to Cyprus, as well as 26 others sent to the Gaza Strip, had taken shelter in the Church of the Nativity, triggering a 39-day siege that ended on May 10th.

Palestinians who live near the church described the group as a criminal gang that preyed especially on Palestinian Christians, demanding "protection money" from the main businesses, which make and sell religious artifacts.

According to Bethlehem residents, one of the group's top leaders, Jihad Ja'ara, 29, traveled around town with an M-16 rifle, terrorizing the community.

"Finally the Christians can breathe freely," said Helen, 50, a Christian mother of four. "We are so delighted that these criminals who have intimidated us for such a long time are now going away."

Others feared new gunmen will capitalize on the group's disappearance and the pullout of Israeli troops. "Will new gangs come in?" asked Samer, 33, from the Christian suburb of Beit Jala in Bethlehem. "The gunmen will start taking revenge on the weak, desperate people."

Residents also said that Mr. Ja'ara and another top leader, Ibrahim Abayat, took nine Muslims whom they suspected of collaborating with Israel into an apartment near Manger Square and fatally shot them. The executions took place shortly before the April 2 gun battle between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters that sent more than 200 Palestinians fleeing into the church, where they remained for 39 days.

Abayat, in a phone interview from inside the church while the siege was under way, said he was personally responsible for the killings. He said there was no need for a trial because "it was a well-known fact that these people were linked to Israel."

Abayat and Mr. Ja'ara are now at a seaside hotel in Cyprus waiting to be moved to an as-yet-unnamed European country, where many expect them to be set free.

The gang has said it is part of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that has claimed responsibility for several recent suicide bombings in Israel.

Zuhair Hamdan, founder of the Movement for Coexistence in Jerusalem, was sitting on a chair outside his corner shop near Bethlehem in November when an official Palestinian Authority car drew up with a squeal of brakes. From the back window, a gunman, who Mr. Hamdan says was a member of the gang, emptied 12 bullets from a M-16 rifle, hitting him five times in the abdomen, legs and neck. Mr. Hamdan was so close to death in the hospital that he now jokes, "They took my body to the cemetery, but the cemetery rejected me."

Mr. Hamdan said seven members of the gang were involved. Five of the seven assailants have since died, at least one of them fatally shot by Israel during the recent church siege, he said. "The remaining two gunmen are being kicked out of Bethlehem, but wherever they end up, someone will get to them and make them pay for all the awful things they've done," he said.

The gang apparently used its ready access to guns and close ties with Mr. Arafat's Palestinian security forces to extort money, run guns, smuggle drugs and even demand that young women separate from their husbands. After one woman was reportedly raped by a gang member, the perpetrator was put in jail, but only briefly. His comrades reportedly forced the jailers to let
him go.

The gang's hostility toward Christians extended to a 17-year-old altar boy fatally shot during an Israeli incursion in October. A small stone monument the family erected in Johnny Talgieh's memory on the spot in Manger Square where he died was kicked and spat on by gang members, then toppled with ropes and cables and left smashed on the ground. "They did not want to recognize that a Christian could be considered a [martyr]," said a family member, "even though having that statue there would have given the Palestinian cause a huge propaganda boost. They hate us Christians more than they love Palestine."

Even during the recent siege, gang members who had not fled into the church continued to demand their regular 10 shekels (about $2) from each taxi driver going in and out of a parking lot close to the compound. One who refused, saying he had no cash, was reportedly beaten up last month.

The gang apparently operated under the full protection of Mr. Arafat's Fatah organization and Tanzim, its military wing.

During the 19-month uprising, they have often fired into the nearby Israeli suburb of Gilo from church grounds and the homes of Palestinian Christians in Beit Jala.

When Palestinian gunmen would show up at the door, Christian families often had no choice but to let their homes be used as sniper posts and face the consequences of Israeli retaliation.

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IDF SEARCHES IN THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

By Sayed Anwar, The Washington Times, May 13, 2002



At the request of the priests, IDF (Israel Defense Forces) forces entered the Church of the Nativity in order to search for weapons inside the church. During the search, weapons were found, as well as 40 explosive charges that were hidden within walls and in corners of rooms. Several improvised explosives were found hidden behind closets. During the limited time given to IDF to execute the searches, 25 explosive devices were neutralized; the remaining devices were marked by IDF.

IDF spokesperson notes that the neutralizing of the explosives left behind by the terrorists prevented a great risk to the lives of the priests within the church. The mere discovery of these explosive devices proves beyond all doubt that the terrorists blatantly desecrated the holy site.

As of May 10th, IDF forces completed their withdrawal from the city of Bethlehem.

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OF SILENCE AND SCORN

Though relieved over the end to the long standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, many Jews and Christians share a lingering sense of outrage that more Church leaders did not forcefully condemn the blatant Muslim desecration of a major Christian shrine. Here was a clear case of Islamic militiamen deliberately taking their battle against Israel into a revered church and taking clerics and youths as hostages. Yet most of Christendom seemed mysteriously silent! And many churches that did speak out chose to unfairly criticize Israel for its "brutal siege."

It is vital to understand the reasons behind this moral imbalance of silence towards Islam and open scorn towards Israel. In this regard, the Bethlehem standoff provides an unusually crisp portal into present Christian attitudes towards Israel and the enduring plight of Arab Christian minorities under Muslim domination.

First, not all Christians were silent. The Christian Embassy, for one,
published a statement early on that strongly condemned "this transgression on the sanctity of the Church of the Nativity," deeming it "a premeditated offense by militant Muslim outlaws." This was long before reports surfaced that one of the most prominent Christian clergymen in Jerusalem had previously met with the Abayat clan that heads the Fatah Tanzim in Bethlehem, offered them keys to the Nativity compound, and encouraged them to seek refuge there if the need arose.

Yet much of the mainstream media refused to pick up on such sober truth telling, since it did not fit their spin on the story, and thus they bear
partial responsibility for the perceived Christian silence.

Otherwise, some of the imbalance can be chalked up to classic Christian anti-Semitism - both patent and latent. The standoff indeed unleashed a firestorm of anti-Semitic diatribes from numerous Arab clerics and some Western pulpits. But when USA Today reported a sudden increase in sermons across America on the Middle East conflict, it is likely that most were either fairly balanced or pro-Israel.

This means there were other factors in play - the foremost being
self-preservation.

This concept is simple to grasp. Arab Christians in Bethlehem and throughout the Middle East have developed over time an ingrained survival mechanism - never say anything bad in public about your Muslim neighbors. It could cost you dearly. With the rise of Palestinian nationalism, this penchant for self-preservation prompted some indigent Christians to wax more anti-Israel than the Muslim majority. In his excellent work The Siege, former Irish diplomat (and Catholic) Conor Cruise O'Brien describes it as "waving the bloody shirt" higher than the Muslims in order to show your loyalty to the cause.

Yet the price for demonstrating that loyalty is on the rise. In the first
intifada, Bethlehem's Christians were asked, "Why don't your sons come throw stones alongside our Muslim boys?" Many Christian families packed up and left. In the current, more deadly intifada, the question being asked is, "Why aren't you giving any of your sons as shaheeds?" The silence has become deafening.

Many church leaders abroad understand the dangers faced by local Christians and thus adhere to the same code of silence to protect these precious flocks. This was prominently on display in the recent standoff, and may be a responsible move to some extent, so long as you do not also unduly blame the Israelis for every wrong.

In addition, as local Christian clerics keep silent about their suffering under Islam, it limits their ability to appeal for vital outside support to meet real needs in their communities. Some respond by trumpeting supposed sufferings under the "Israeli occupation," knowing Israel does not bite back. Thus when the IDF first entered Beit Jala last August to suppress Tanzim gunfire at Gilo, there was a considerable outcry that Israeli forces were holding some 45 "orphans" in a Lutheran compound as "human shields." Total nonsense, of course, and nothing as egregious as Muslim gunmen invading the Church of the Nativity. But such accounts have been known to resonate with potential donors.

The same can be said about major elements of the so-called human rights movement, who subtly compete for funding by seeing who can scream the loudest against Israel. It can be good for business.

On another note, many churches that minister in the vast Arab/Islamic world make the mistake of thinking they have to bash Israel in order to "get in good" with the natives. This has manifested even in Evangelical circles that otherwise would be predisposed to favoring Israel. Yet we can attest that it is possible to raise monies and assist the brave Christians of Bethlehem without compromising on the Bible's mandate to "bless" the Jewish people.

Be that as it may, there are some very positive signs coming out of the Bethlehem standoff that augur well for future relations between Israel and the Christian world.

One Protestant source close to the Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Vatican delegates involved in the Nativity negotiations insists they were "tremendously grateful to Israel for exercising restraint," but had "disgust beyond words" for the Muslim gunmen and Palestinian officials they had to deal with. Christian and Israeli officials built a "trustful relationship" during the stretched-out talks, although it remains problematic to express this publicly. The outrage against the Muslim actions is there, but it is still outweighed by the fears of retribution.

The question is whether it is time for responsible Church leaders to remove the gag, since it has done little to relieve the plight of Christians in Bethlehem and elsewhere under the Palestinian Authority. The standoff may be over, but they are still living with a Muslim gun to their heads. And God forbid that the next standoff should darken the door of the Holy Sepulchre.

This special commentary was written by David Parsons, who serves as head of the news and publications department at the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. This article also appeared in the print edition of THE JERUSALEM POST on Thursday, May 16, 2002, under the headline "Waving the Bloody Shirt."

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Greedy "Monsters" Ruled Church

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The Palestinian gunmen holed up in the Church of the Nativity and later deported by Israel seized church stockpiles of food and "ate like greedy monsters" until the food ran out, while more than 150 civilians went hungry.

They also guzzled beer, wine and Johnnie Walker scotch that they found in priests' quarters, undeterred by the Islamic ban on drinking alcohol.

The indulgence lasted for about two weeks into the 39-day siege, when the food and drink ran out, according to an account by four Greek Orthodox priests who were trapped inside for the entire ordeal that ended Friday.

About 30 priests, monks and nuns, and more than 150 Palestinian civilians, who ran inside on April 2 to escape a gunbattle between Israelis and Palestinians, remained inside the church with the armed militants for more than five weeks.

A church helper, who gave his name as Milad, said the quantity of food consumed by the gunmen in the first 15 days should have lasted for six months.

As they feasted and boozed, Palestinian civilians subsisted on a meager diet, with barely enough for a single meal a day.

Conditions improved somewhat for the civilian refuge seekers when the governor of Bethlehem intervened and partially succeeded in reallocating food supplies, priests and others witnesses said.

Angry Orthodox priests yesterday showed two reporters about 20 empty bottles of whiskey, champagne, vodka, cognac and French wine on a kitchen shelf and on the floor of two rooms.

"They should be ashamed of themselves. They acted like animals, like greedy monsters. Come, I will show you more," said one priest, who declined to give his name.

He gestured toward empty bottles of Israeli-brewed Maccabi beer and hundreds of cigarette butts strewn on the floor.

The priest then took the reporters to see computers taken apart and a television set dismantled for use as a hiding place for weapons.

“You can see what repayment we got for 'hosting' these so-called guests," said Archbishop Ironius, another cleric, as he showed reporters the main reception hall of the Greek Orthodox Monastery.

"All the media concentrated on the Franciscan [Catholic] quarter, where little damage was done," the archbishop said. "Why? The Franciscans actually let the gunmen in, then guided the gunmen to our rooms."

Archbishop Ironius showed onlookers where the militants had broken in to the monks' quarters by smashing locked doors while, he said, the monks were praying downstairs.

"The Franciscans then blocked their own rooms' doors with iron bars," Archbishop Ironius said.

The 39-day siege ended Friday under a deal in which 13 Palestinian fighters were sent to exile in Europe and another 26 were sent to Gaza, where they were received as heroes.

While in the church, the top Palestinian gunmen slept on comfortable beds in the elegant apartment of Father Parathaious, while others rested on mattresses there and elsewhere under high-quality woolen blankets.

The civilians slept on cold tile floors in the main church downstairs.

"It's a shame, the mess they made and the way they kept the food. I'm not proud of what they did, even though as a Palestinian I sympathize with their cause of a liberated homeland," said Milad, 15.

The gunmen belong to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, part of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization.

Before Mr. Arafat visited the church yesterday, Palestinian security officials ordered a thorough removal of all debris and a total cleanup.

But prior to Mr. Arafat's arrival, the reporters were shown the room belonging to Father Vasareillon, where a key Al Aqsa leader, Nabil Abayat, was fatally shot.

While inviting the reporters inside, the priests refused to allow three young members of Mr. Abayat's extended family into the room, fearing they would insist it became a Muslim shrine to their fallen colleague.

The scene in the room was grim. Seven gunmen had sheltered there, said another young church helper, and Mr. Abayat had died when a bullet ricocheted off a radiator.

Pools of his blood had stained the bed on which he had collapsed.

Priests pointed to numerous bullet holes that appeared to have been fired from inside the room.

Wine bottles and a Johnny Walker Red Label whisky bottle lay empty on a bedside table with cooked rice splattered on the floor.

Another top gunman from the militant Abayat clan was fatally shot 10 days ago close to a well that the Palestinians had used to hide their weapons.

Another four gunmen died during the exchanges of fire and sniping, as well as a mentally retarded bell ringer who, the Israelis say, ran toward soldiers, ignoring orders to stop.

Several Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in the exchanges of gunfire during the five-week siege.

The Orthodox priests and a number of civilians have said the gunmen created a regime of fear.

"Their word was law," said one civilian, "and they told us civilians who left the church would either be shot by the Israelis or dealt with later by the gunmen's comrades."

Even in the Roman Catholic areas of the complex there was evidence of disregard for religious norms.

Catholic priests said that some Bibles were torn up for toilet paper, and many valuable sacramental objects were removed.

"Palestinians took candelabra, icons and anything that looked like gold," said a Franciscan, the Rev. Nicholas Marquez from Mexico. "We were told later that they gave them back."

The gunmen and civilians who emerged on Friday went through metal detectors, revealing no stolen objects.