“In the Middle East, it is not a war between religions, but the relentless domination of one people by another”

Lhe July 17, the only Catholic church of Gaza was affected by a shell fired by an Israeli tank. For example, Three people died and the parish priest, Gabriel Romanelli, was injured. Meanwhile, Israel deplored the incident but the damage, as always, are not limited to equipment, far from it.

The affected church was not just a sacred place, it was also a refuge in a besieged city. Moreover, The Christian population of Gaza now has less than a thousand people. However, a meager vestige of one of the oldest communities in Christianity. Nevertheless, The fact that it still exists is a miracle, no more no less.

Rare thing. two days after the strike, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Theophile III, Greek Patriarch Orthodox of Jerusalem, were allowed to go “in middle east, it not to Gaza in the disaster church, bringing in their musette humanitarian aid and messages of solidarity. Cardinal Pizzaballa later said that he doubted that the shot in question could have been accidental [dans un entretien accordé au Corriere della sera. le 18 juillet]. Pope Leo XIV condemned the strike and called to a ceasefire. France and Italy qualified it as unacceptable. Even the American president, Donald Trump, said he was seriously concerned.

As a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, I felt deep in my flesh. My family has lived in Bethlehem for centuries now. We are Palestinians, just like those who have been moved by bombs and blockade. The idea that we are somewhere different from our Muslim compatriots is a fiction that Israel has been trying to sell us for ages – often relayed in the form of nebulous. reducing stories. But the hours of anxiety like these provide “in middle east, it not us with a rare opportunity to put things with clarity. Palestinian Christians and Muslims form one and the same people. We suffer together. We share the same land, the same fate, the same thirst for freedom.

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