Bethlehem may soon have few Christians left.
BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK -- The exodus of Christian Arabs from Palestinian Authority (PA)-controlled areas has gained momentum amidst increasing Muslim anti-Christian incitement, the Associated Press reported.
According to a story carried by www.israelnationalnews.com, the dwindling Christian Arab population in Bethlehem parallels a similar phenomenon in other Arab countries.
"Most of the Christians here are either in the process of leaving, planning to leave or thinking of leaving,” Sami Awad, executive director of the Holy Land Trust, told AP.
“Insecurity is deep and getting worse.” The Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land said Christians could become “extinct” in the area within 60 years.
A Christian restaurant owner, Ibrahim Shomali, is selling what he can before he leaves with his wife this month for Flint, Michigan. “We Christians now feel like we are on the cross,” he said.
Bethlehem Christians flee tensions
Matthew Price of BBC News reporting from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, said, “The little town of Bethlehem is perhaps more associated with Christianity than any other place in the world.
“But now there are fears that soon it could be home to hardly any Christians at all.
“To get into Bethlehem from Jerusalem you have to go through a checkpoint. Actually nowadays it looks more like a border crossing.
“Israeli security personnel sitting behind blast-proof-glass ask for your passport. Soldiers stand, rifles cradled in their arms.
“The barrier goes up, and you drive in through a gap in the 30-foot high concrete wall that Israel says it has built to keep out suicide bombers.
The wall now separates Bethlehem and Jerusalem - two towns that have been linked for centuries.”
Resigned
Price continued, “A short drive down the road, in her living room, Reem Odeh brings out the drinks. Tiny cups, black Arabic-style coffee frothing at the brim.
“She sits down on the plush purple settee. Then she and her husband explain why they are about to become the latest Christians to leave Bethlehem.
“‘Everything here is difficult,’ says Fouad Odeh. ‘Like work - I stay every day two hours at the checkpoint before I get into Jerusalem. Every day two hours.’
