Christians vs. Muslims in the PA

That there is tension between the Muslims and Christians in the PA (partic. in recent years in Bethlehem) is well known. However, apropos the ransacking of a Christian village by Muslims that we discussed yesterday, the Christian 'Custodian of the Holy Land,' Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, conducted an interview with an Italian paper in which he claimed that Muslim-Christian relations in the PA have significantly worsened since the outbreak of the second Intifada. Talking of a "distinct increase in Muslim hostility towards Christians in the Holy Land," he says that

The turning point... came with the introduction of a new element into the second intifada: Islamic fundamentalism. Previously, the Palestinian movement was of a predominantly nationalistic character. And this character was due in large part to the contribution of Christian Arabs belonging to a refined and Westernized élite, which was not without tinges of Marxism. The guerilla leaders George Habbash, Wadi Haddad, and George Hawatmeh were Christians. But the leading proponents of the moderate and pragmatic wing, which supported the Oslo accords, were also Christian: Hanan Ashwari, Hanna Seniora, and Afif Safia. But now the latter of these figures are in the shadows and under threat. Even the death of Yasser Arafat has worked to the disadvantage of the Christians. And they are emigrating.

Of-course the Islamification of the Palestinian national struggle has been going on for years, with the rise and rise of Hamas, but there's no question that Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah influences etc. have become so much more pronounced since 2000.
The piece also gives a slightly different account of the case of the Palestinian honour killing that prompted the ransacking of the village, but the essentials remain the same. Read the whole thing here.

(Via Tischreden)