Hamas stands by as Christians suffer

By Tim Butcher - The Daily Telegraph

An attempt by Muslim clerics to close a YMCA branch office in the West Bank has exposed growing tensions between the Holy Land's dwindling Christian community and the new Palestinian Arab government led by Hamas.

Firebombs were recently thrown into the office of the YMCA in a Hamas stronghold, Qalqilya, forcing the group to move to new premises.

Muslim leaders have written to the local council demanding that the YMCA branch office close.Their letter concludes: "The presence of this office will lead to negative consequences."

While the religious leaders were not members of Hamas, the failure of the local Hamas-run council to protect the YMCA is concerning local Christians.

The deputy mayor and a Hamas member, Hashem al Masri, admitted that the YMCA's name alone was a "challenge to the city." "I know it is not civilized to attack it but it is a challenge to the feeling of our people," he said.

The YMCA has offices across the West Bank giving work to 140 Palestinian Arabs, of whom 84 are Muslim.

In Qalgilya, it provides wheelchairs and prosthetics for children.This year's budget is $90,000 and if the office closes the money will be spent elsewhere.

For decades, Christians have felt squeezed and persecuted and have seen their numbers dwindle from about 10% of the population to less than 2% in Israel and the Palestinian Arab territories. They have been overtaken by Jewish migrants and large Muslim families and have moved on to friendly countries in the West.

The election of the Hamas government adds further pressure on the community. So sensitive is the issue that the YMCA leadership in the West Bank declined to speak to the Daily Telegraph.

Instead, the director-general of the YMCA in West Jerusalem, Norris Lineweaver, explained that the problem arose simply because the word Christian appears in the group's name.

"The problems arise because of an unfortunate misunderstanding about our role. We are there simply to help the local councils, whether they are Muslim or Christian, with any youth development programs they might have."