This kind of brings into sharp relief the consistent media spin about how Christians and Muslims were living peacefully in Gaza until last June:
The man was identified as Rami Ayyad, 31, director of The Teacher’s Bookshop, which is operated by the Palestinian Bible Society. Although no group claimed responsibility for the murder, a number of Christians in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that Ayyad had received several death threats in the past from radical Muslims who accused him of conducting missionary activities. His bookshop and the Palestinian Bible Society had been the target of repeated attacks over the past two years.
Attacks have certainly increased since the Hamas takeover – again, despite the media’s vaunted “Hamas brought peace to Gaza” frame. But they had been going on for years before that.
The rest of the article describes how attacks against Christians have also spiked in the West Bank. Which means that we have to recycle this Reuters quote yet again, because it’s just so perfect:
Despairing of life under Israeli occupation, many Palestinian Christians are moving abroad, threatening their ancient links to Bethlehem and the land where Jesus was born… Christian leaders say they face no religious persecution from the Palestinian Muslim majority or from Israel.
Probably has nothing to do with creeping sharia in the ostensibly secular Fatah movement. You know what would be a really great idea though? Giving the Palestinians more land.
References:
* Palestinian Christian found dead in Gaza [JPost]
* AP: Gaza Christians Have Been Living Peacefully, Now Under Attack By Unknown Extremists [MR]
* AFP: Hamas Is "Merciful", "The New Face Of Law And Order" [MR]
* Reuters Anti-Israel Demonization Now Just Silly: Israeli Jews Persecuting Palestinian Christians. Muslim Palestinians, On the Other Hand, Have Persecuted Nobody and Burned No Churches [MR]
* Video: Palestinian Christians Being Attacked, Firebombed Out Of The West Bank (Bonus: Sharia Law In the Palestinian Constitution) [MR]
Previously:
* AP’s Ibrahim Barzak Publishes Least Subtle anti-Israel bias Yet
* Abbas: "Killing Palestinian Soldiers Who Are Firing Rockets At Israeli Schools And Hospitals Is A Massacre"
* Hamas: We’re Ready To Stop Bombing Israeli Schools And Hospitals For A Few Months. Maybe. (Plus: Egypt Letting Terrorists Flood Into Gaza).
