Palestinians: Erasing Christian History

by Khaled Abu Toameh • April 12, 2016 at 5:00 am

For Palestinian Christians, the destruction of the ancient Byzantine church ruins is yet a further attempt by Palestinian Muslim leaders to efface both Christian history and signs of any Christian presence in the West Bank and Gaza, under the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas. A growing number of Christians feel they are being systematically targeted by both the PA and Hamas for being Christians.
Bulldozers were used to destroy some of the church artifacts; some Palestinian Christians accused both Hamas and the PA of copying ISIS tactics to demolish historic sites.
"Where are the heads of the churches in Jerusalem and the world?... Where are the Vatican and UNESCO? Where are the leaders and politicians who talk, talk, talk about national unity and the preservation of holy sites? Or is this a collective conspiracy to end our existence and history in the East?" — Sami Khalil, a Christian from the West Bank city of Nablus.
The plight of Palestinian Christians does not interest the international community. That is because Israel cannot be blamed for demolishing the antiquities. If the current policy against Christians persists, the day will come when no Christians will be left in Bethlehem.

Hamas has destroyed the ruins of an 1800-year-old Byzantine church that was recently unearthed in Gaza City.

Palestinian Christians are up in arms over the destruction of the ruins of an ancient Byzantine church that were recently discovered in Gaza City.

The protest, however, failed to win the attention of the international community, especially United Nations agencies such as UNESCO, whose mission is to secure the world's cultural and natural heritage.

The ruins of the 1800-year-old church were discovered in Palestine Square, in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, where Hamas is planning to build a shopping mall. The dramatic discovery of the antiquities did not seem to leave an impression on the construction workers, who removed artifacts and continued with their work at the site.

Defying belief, bulldozers were used to destroy some of the church artifacts, drawing sharp criticism from Palestinian Christians, some of whom rushed to accuse both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) of copying ISIS tactics to demolish historic sites.

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Turkey's Circus in Washington

by Burak Bekdil • April 12, 2016 at 4:30 am

During his visit to Washington, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security guards harassed and physically assaulted journalists trying to cover the event; they also forcibly attempted to remove several journalists, although they were on the guest list.
An American reporter attempting to film the harassment received a kick in the chest.
Against this backdrop, Erdogan kept on adding to his own ridicule. "I am not at war with the press," he said in an interview with CNN International. Then he went on: "We have never done anything to stop freedom of expression or freedom of press.

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) gave a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington last month, his security guards harassed, threatened and assaulted numerous journalists trying to cover the event. Pictured at right, a police officer steps in to protect a Turkish journalist from Erdogan's guards.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasing Third-Worldish authoritarianism is taking new turns: it is now visible outside Turkey.

At the same time as Erdogan was heading for Washington for a nuclear security summit, the two journalists who he asserted last year "will pay a heavy price" had to stand trial at a second hearing on charges of espionage and terrorism, and with life sentences hanging over their heads. Their "espionage and terrorism" activity concerned a story they ran in May 2015 detailing how Turkish intelligence was transporting weapons to Islamist fighters in Syria.

"This is a tug of war between Turkish democrats and autocrats," Can Dundar, one of the "spy/terrorists" told The Wall Street Journal. "The Western world has been supporting Erdogan for years and we were telling them that this was the wrong decision, not only for Turkey, but also for the Western world."

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