19 may 2015
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) burned Tuesday morning pastoral lands in Atouf town near Tubas and prevented putting fire down, local sources revealed.
The village council’s president Bashar Bani Odeh said, in a press statement, the IOF soldiers burned pastoral lands in the vicinity of one of the Israeli nearby military camps, but the flames spread to the adjacent Palestinian pastorals which immediately caught on fire, Bani Odeh said.
He added that the Palestinian civil defense were unable to approach the fire locations due to rough roads and the IOF soldiers barred the Palestinians from putting fire down using simple tools.
Bani Odeh pointed out that the spreading fires approached the housing areas after burning hundreds of dunums of Palestinian pastoral lands.
The IOF has almost turned the lands in Northern Jordan Valley into military drills zones which resulted in great damage to the farms and pastoral lands in addition to dangerous remnants of military drills.
The village council’s president Bashar Bani Odeh said, in a press statement, the IOF soldiers burned pastoral lands in the vicinity of one of the Israeli nearby military camps, but the flames spread to the adjacent Palestinian pastorals which immediately caught on fire, Bani Odeh said.
He added that the Palestinian civil defense were unable to approach the fire locations due to rough roads and the IOF soldiers barred the Palestinians from putting fire down using simple tools.
Bani Odeh pointed out that the spreading fires approached the housing areas after burning hundreds of dunums of Palestinian pastoral lands.
The IOF has almost turned the lands in Northern Jordan Valley into military drills zones which resulted in great damage to the farms and pastoral lands in addition to dangerous remnants of military drills.
17 may 2015
The Palestinian flag on top of the Vatican, for the first time 5/16/2015
Two 19th-century nuns on Sunday became the first Palestinians to gain sainthood during an open-air mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St Peter's Square, and attended by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The pontiff urged the faithful to follow the "luminous example" of the two 19th-century sisters and two others, from France and Italy, who were canonized along with them on a sunny spring morning.
AFP reports that Marie Alphonsine Ghattas was born in 1843 in Jerusalem during its rule by the Ottoman Empire, and died there during the British mandate period in 1927.
She was beatified -- the final step before canonization -- in 2009.
Mariam Bawardy was born in Galilee, now in northern Israel, in 1846. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878 and was beatified by pope John Paul II in 1983.
Around 2,000 pilgrims from the Palestinian territories, Israel and Jordan, some waving Palestinian flags, attended the mass as well as Abbas, who had a private audience with the pope on Saturday. Ghattas, through her focus on women's education and community work, left behind a network of convents, schools and religious centers -- a more palpable legacy than Bawardy, who lives on more through the memory of her tough and mysterious life.
For sainthood, the candidate must have lived a holy life, as determined by the Catholic Church, and must usually have at least two miracles to their name, attributable to prayers made to them posthumously.
A miracle that led to Ghattas's canonization was the resuscitation of a Palestinian engineer in 2009, who was electrocuted and suffered a heart attack, but regained consciousness two days later after relatives prayed for her intercession.
During her life, Ghattas is said to have seen the Virgin Mary in several apparitions, and nuns talk of miracles she performed then, including saving a girl who had fallen down a well by tossing her rosary into the water.
'Nun in blue'
Bawardy, after becoming a nun of the Carmelite order, helped found the Carmelite Monastery in Bethlehem. Orphaned at a young age and illiterate, she had her throat slit by an angry would-be suitor when she refused to convert to Islam, but a mysterious "nun in blue" is said to have saved her life, the Carmelite order's website says.
She traveled to France to become a nun, then to India to help set up a monastery there, and eventually settled in Bethlehem.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine.
The canonization of a third Palestinian -- a Salesian monk -- is still under review by the Church. The other two new saints are Jeanne-Emilie de Villeneuve (1811-1854) and Maria Cristina dell'Immacolata (1856-1906).
De Villeneuve founded the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, in southwestern France, while Sister Maria Cristina founded the Oblation Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Giant portraits of the four women hung from the facade of St Peter's Basilica facing the square.
Francis urged the faithful to "follow in the footsteps" of the four women, whom he called "models of sanctity." During his meeting with Abbas on Saturday, the pontiff called him an "angel of peace" and the two discussed the peace process with Israel, the Vatican said.
The Vatican said last week it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, two years after recognizing it as a state.
Two 19th-century nuns on Sunday became the first Palestinians to gain sainthood during an open-air mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St Peter's Square, and attended by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
The pontiff urged the faithful to follow the "luminous example" of the two 19th-century sisters and two others, from France and Italy, who were canonized along with them on a sunny spring morning.
AFP reports that Marie Alphonsine Ghattas was born in 1843 in Jerusalem during its rule by the Ottoman Empire, and died there during the British mandate period in 1927.
She was beatified -- the final step before canonization -- in 2009.
Mariam Bawardy was born in Galilee, now in northern Israel, in 1846. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878 and was beatified by pope John Paul II in 1983.
Around 2,000 pilgrims from the Palestinian territories, Israel and Jordan, some waving Palestinian flags, attended the mass as well as Abbas, who had a private audience with the pope on Saturday. Ghattas, through her focus on women's education and community work, left behind a network of convents, schools and religious centers -- a more palpable legacy than Bawardy, who lives on more through the memory of her tough and mysterious life.
For sainthood, the candidate must have lived a holy life, as determined by the Catholic Church, and must usually have at least two miracles to their name, attributable to prayers made to them posthumously.
A miracle that led to Ghattas's canonization was the resuscitation of a Palestinian engineer in 2009, who was electrocuted and suffered a heart attack, but regained consciousness two days later after relatives prayed for her intercession.
During her life, Ghattas is said to have seen the Virgin Mary in several apparitions, and nuns talk of miracles she performed then, including saving a girl who had fallen down a well by tossing her rosary into the water.
'Nun in blue'
Bawardy, after becoming a nun of the Carmelite order, helped found the Carmelite Monastery in Bethlehem. Orphaned at a young age and illiterate, she had her throat slit by an angry would-be suitor when she refused to convert to Islam, but a mysterious "nun in blue" is said to have saved her life, the Carmelite order's website says.
She traveled to France to become a nun, then to India to help set up a monastery there, and eventually settled in Bethlehem.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine.
The canonization of a third Palestinian -- a Salesian monk -- is still under review by the Church. The other two new saints are Jeanne-Emilie de Villeneuve (1811-1854) and Maria Cristina dell'Immacolata (1856-1906).
De Villeneuve founded the Sisters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Castres, in southwestern France, while Sister Maria Cristina founded the Oblation Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Giant portraits of the four women hung from the facade of St Peter's Basilica facing the square.
Francis urged the faithful to "follow in the footsteps" of the four women, whom he called "models of sanctity." During his meeting with Abbas on Saturday, the pontiff called him an "angel of peace" and the two discussed the peace process with Israel, the Vatican said.
The Vatican said last week it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, two years after recognizing it as a state.
16 may 2015
President Mahmoud Abbas and Pope Francis on May 16, 2015.
First Palestinian nuns to be canonized as saints
Pope Francis met President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, calling him "an angel of peace," days after the Vatican said it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, to the anger of Israel.
Abbas met the pontiff for about 20 minutes for a private audience, a day before the Pope is due to canonize two Palestinian nuns, who will become the first Palestinians to gain sainthood.
On Wednesday the Holy See announced that it was preparing to sign its first treaty with Palestine, two years after officially recognizing it as a state.
A bilateral commission is putting the final touches to the agreement, on the Catholic Church's life and activities in Palestine, which then "will be submitted to the respective authorities for approval ahead of setting a debate in the near future for the signing," the Vatican said on Wednesday.
Some observers speculated that the agreement could be signed during Abbas's visit.
The news of the treaty immediately drew ire from Israel:
"Israel heard with disappointment the decision of the Holy See to agree a final formulation of an agreement with the Palestinians including the use of the term 'Palestinian State'," said an Israeli foreign ministry official. "Such a development does not further the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct bilateral negotiations. Israel will study the agreement and consider its next step."
According to AFP. the agreement, 15 years in the making, expresses the Vatican's "hope for a solution to the Palestinian question and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians according to the Two-State Solution," Antoine Camilleri, the Holy See's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview earlier this week.
In an interview with the Vatican's Osservatore Romano newspaper, Camilleri said he hoped "the accord could, even in an indirect way, help the Palestinians in the establishment and recognition of an independent, sovereign and democratic State of Palestine."
The Palestinian Authority considers the Vatican one of 136 countries to have recognized Palestine as a state, although the number is disputed with several recognitions by what are now European Union member states date back to the Soviet era.
'First Palestinian saints'
Abbas's visit came a day before two nuns who lived in Ottoman Palestine during the 19th century will be made saints at a Vatican ceremony.
Marie Alphonsine Ghattas of Jerusalem and Mariam Bawardy of Galilee will become the first Palestinian Arabs to gain sainthood.
Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1843 during the Ottoman era and died in 1927 at the outset of the British Mandate over Palestine. She set up the Holy Rosary Sisters dedicated to women's education and empowerment, which today has Today the Holy Rosary Sisters have reputable schools in Palestine and in other Arab countries. She was beatified -- the final step before canonization -- in 2009.
Bawardy was born in Galilee, now in northern Israel, in 1843. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878, establishing a convent in Bethlehem in 1876 which still exists until today. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1983.
The recognition of Palestinian Christians by the Pope urged Abbas Saturday to openly express his value of Palestine's Christian community, which makes up around 8 percent of the population in the occupied West Bank.
"On this holy occasion we would like to express appreciation to our Palestinian Christian brothers for their steadfastness and effective contribution to building the Palestinian nation, and we call upon them to stay with us and not to be easily swept by the tide of migration," Abbas said in a statement, referring to increasing levels of Christian emigration from Palestine in recent years due to restraints placed by the Israeli occupation.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine.
The canonization of a third Palestinian -- a Salesian monk -- is still under review by the Church.
First Palestinian nuns to be canonized as saints
Pope Francis met President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, calling him "an angel of peace," days after the Vatican said it was preparing to sign its first accord with Palestine, to the anger of Israel.
Abbas met the pontiff for about 20 minutes for a private audience, a day before the Pope is due to canonize two Palestinian nuns, who will become the first Palestinians to gain sainthood.
On Wednesday the Holy See announced that it was preparing to sign its first treaty with Palestine, two years after officially recognizing it as a state.
A bilateral commission is putting the final touches to the agreement, on the Catholic Church's life and activities in Palestine, which then "will be submitted to the respective authorities for approval ahead of setting a debate in the near future for the signing," the Vatican said on Wednesday.
Some observers speculated that the agreement could be signed during Abbas's visit.
The news of the treaty immediately drew ire from Israel:
"Israel heard with disappointment the decision of the Holy See to agree a final formulation of an agreement with the Palestinians including the use of the term 'Palestinian State'," said an Israeli foreign ministry official. "Such a development does not further the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct bilateral negotiations. Israel will study the agreement and consider its next step."
According to AFP. the agreement, 15 years in the making, expresses the Vatican's "hope for a solution to the Palestinian question and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians according to the Two-State Solution," Antoine Camilleri, the Holy See's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview earlier this week.
In an interview with the Vatican's Osservatore Romano newspaper, Camilleri said he hoped "the accord could, even in an indirect way, help the Palestinians in the establishment and recognition of an independent, sovereign and democratic State of Palestine."
The Palestinian Authority considers the Vatican one of 136 countries to have recognized Palestine as a state, although the number is disputed with several recognitions by what are now European Union member states date back to the Soviet era.
'First Palestinian saints'
Abbas's visit came a day before two nuns who lived in Ottoman Palestine during the 19th century will be made saints at a Vatican ceremony.
Marie Alphonsine Ghattas of Jerusalem and Mariam Bawardy of Galilee will become the first Palestinian Arabs to gain sainthood.
Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1843 during the Ottoman era and died in 1927 at the outset of the British Mandate over Palestine. She set up the Holy Rosary Sisters dedicated to women's education and empowerment, which today has Today the Holy Rosary Sisters have reputable schools in Palestine and in other Arab countries. She was beatified -- the final step before canonization -- in 2009.
Bawardy was born in Galilee, now in northern Israel, in 1843. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878, establishing a convent in Bethlehem in 1876 which still exists until today. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1983.
The recognition of Palestinian Christians by the Pope urged Abbas Saturday to openly express his value of Palestine's Christian community, which makes up around 8 percent of the population in the occupied West Bank.
"On this holy occasion we would like to express appreciation to our Palestinian Christian brothers for their steadfastness and effective contribution to building the Palestinian nation, and we call upon them to stay with us and not to be easily swept by the tide of migration," Abbas said in a statement, referring to increasing levels of Christian emigration from Palestine in recent years due to restraints placed by the Israeli occupation.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine.
The canonization of a third Palestinian -- a Salesian monk -- is still under review by the Church.
Palestinan President Mahmoud Abbas' thnaks in Statement Ahead of the Canonization of Two Palestinian Women Pope Francis and the Catholic Church saying :
"We thank God the Almighty for the blessings He has bestowed on two holy women from Palestine: Mariam Baouardy Haddad from Ibillin village in the Galilee and Marie Alphonsine (Sultana Daniel) Ghattas from Jerusalem".President abbas added in his statement wich PNN Received :"Our Holy Land has become a bastion of virtue for the entire world, and we are grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their observance and interest in the seed of virtue that has grown in Palestine. Palestine is not a land of war; it is rather a land of sanctity and virtue as God intended it to be.
St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad was born in 1846 in the Galilee during the Ottoman era and died in Bethlehem in 1878. She lived in Alexandria, Beirut and France. Since her childhood, she was no alien to pain and agony. She sensed the voice of God calling her to a life of spirituality, joined the Carmelite Order in France and dedicated her life to the Lord, who lavished upon her spiritual gifts and blessings. She prayed, interceded and did miracles, and in 1876 established a convent in Bethlehem which still exists until today. Nowadays the convent resonates with prayers for the relief of the suffering of the Palestinian people, Christians and Moslems, alike.
St. Marie Alphonsine was the name given to Sultana Daniel Ghattas after ordination. She was born in Jerusalem in 1843 during the Ottoman era and died in 1927 at the outset of the British Mandate over Palestine. St Marie lived in the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, which still holds the indelible traces of Jesus Christ. Until today Jerusalem is daily witnessing the suffering of the Palestinian people and affecting their human dignity and holy places. St. Marie set up the foundations for a monastic life for the women of Palestine and the Arab world known as the Holy Rosary Sisters dedicated to their education and empowerment. Today the Holy Rosary Sisters have reputable schools in Palestine and in other Arab countries.
Both St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad and St. Marie Alphonsine represent a generation of virtuous and pious women that are capable of confronting challenges and conveying a special message particularly in Palestine and in the Arab countries:
It is an inspirational message which coincides with the commemoration of our people's Nakbah of 1948, emphasizes our unity, and affirms our determination to build a sovereign, independent and free Palestine based on the principles of equal citizenship and the values of spirituality and sublime humanity. On this holy occasion we would like to express appreciation to our Palestinian Christian brothers for their steadfastness and effective contribution to building the Palestinian nation, and we call upon them to stay with us and not to be easily swept by the tide of migration. We call on Palestinian Christians to stay with us and enjoy the rights of full and equal citizenship, and bear with us the difficulties of life until we achieve liberty, sovereignty and human dignity. Through truth and justice we can decide our own fate, and with the prayers of sincere and faithful believers all our endeavors will be realized.
St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad and St. Marie Alphonsine are two daughters of our people representing a unique and powerful voice that tells us that the power of spirit is in us and guides us toward the State and its capital Jerusalem. A woman from Ibillin village in the Galilee, St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad teaches us that God is for the oppressed because she was oppressed and she faced hardships and suffered from displacement. But later she devoted herself to spiritual life and established the Carmelite Convent in Bethlehem. St. Marie Alphonsine (Sultana Daniel) Ghattas who emerged from the heart of Jerusalem tells us that the city of Jerusalem will always remain the city of God and the city of justice and peace for all believers of all faiths. Jerusalem, St. Marie told us, will remain a spiritual heart for every believer in the world. We say: Based on this spiritual foundation, Jerusalem will be our capital, God willing.
These two Palestinian saints add a very distinctive dimension to our national struggle, namely the moving humanitarian and spiritual principles that our land inspires us with. The land that God has made sacred, the land of dialogue between heaven and earth, God and man, and man and man. These are the uplifting spiritual principles that Christians and Moslems share in our Holy Land, and they are the same principles that we seek to form, the bases for the establishment of our State and for our national and social life.
As we celebrate this holy occasion, we would like to congratulate our brothers and sisters in Ibillin as well as in Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine and the whole world. We reiterate our gratitude to the Papacy of the Catholic Church for the canonization of two nuns from Palestine. We ask God the Almighty to lead us all and guide our steps towards the achievement of justice, peace and tranquility in Palestine and the whole world President Abbas' end his statement.
"We thank God the Almighty for the blessings He has bestowed on two holy women from Palestine: Mariam Baouardy Haddad from Ibillin village in the Galilee and Marie Alphonsine (Sultana Daniel) Ghattas from Jerusalem".President abbas added in his statement wich PNN Received :"Our Holy Land has become a bastion of virtue for the entire world, and we are grateful to His Holiness Pope Francis and the Catholic Church for their observance and interest in the seed of virtue that has grown in Palestine. Palestine is not a land of war; it is rather a land of sanctity and virtue as God intended it to be.
St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad was born in 1846 in the Galilee during the Ottoman era and died in Bethlehem in 1878. She lived in Alexandria, Beirut and France. Since her childhood, she was no alien to pain and agony. She sensed the voice of God calling her to a life of spirituality, joined the Carmelite Order in France and dedicated her life to the Lord, who lavished upon her spiritual gifts and blessings. She prayed, interceded and did miracles, and in 1876 established a convent in Bethlehem which still exists until today. Nowadays the convent resonates with prayers for the relief of the suffering of the Palestinian people, Christians and Moslems, alike.
St. Marie Alphonsine was the name given to Sultana Daniel Ghattas after ordination. She was born in Jerusalem in 1843 during the Ottoman era and died in 1927 at the outset of the British Mandate over Palestine. St Marie lived in the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, which still holds the indelible traces of Jesus Christ. Until today Jerusalem is daily witnessing the suffering of the Palestinian people and affecting their human dignity and holy places. St. Marie set up the foundations for a monastic life for the women of Palestine and the Arab world known as the Holy Rosary Sisters dedicated to their education and empowerment. Today the Holy Rosary Sisters have reputable schools in Palestine and in other Arab countries.
Both St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad and St. Marie Alphonsine represent a generation of virtuous and pious women that are capable of confronting challenges and conveying a special message particularly in Palestine and in the Arab countries:
It is an inspirational message which coincides with the commemoration of our people's Nakbah of 1948, emphasizes our unity, and affirms our determination to build a sovereign, independent and free Palestine based on the principles of equal citizenship and the values of spirituality and sublime humanity. On this holy occasion we would like to express appreciation to our Palestinian Christian brothers for their steadfastness and effective contribution to building the Palestinian nation, and we call upon them to stay with us and not to be easily swept by the tide of migration. We call on Palestinian Christians to stay with us and enjoy the rights of full and equal citizenship, and bear with us the difficulties of life until we achieve liberty, sovereignty and human dignity. Through truth and justice we can decide our own fate, and with the prayers of sincere and faithful believers all our endeavors will be realized.
St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad and St. Marie Alphonsine are two daughters of our people representing a unique and powerful voice that tells us that the power of spirit is in us and guides us toward the State and its capital Jerusalem. A woman from Ibillin village in the Galilee, St. Mariam Baouardy Haddad teaches us that God is for the oppressed because she was oppressed and she faced hardships and suffered from displacement. But later she devoted herself to spiritual life and established the Carmelite Convent in Bethlehem. St. Marie Alphonsine (Sultana Daniel) Ghattas who emerged from the heart of Jerusalem tells us that the city of Jerusalem will always remain the city of God and the city of justice and peace for all believers of all faiths. Jerusalem, St. Marie told us, will remain a spiritual heart for every believer in the world. We say: Based on this spiritual foundation, Jerusalem will be our capital, God willing.
These two Palestinian saints add a very distinctive dimension to our national struggle, namely the moving humanitarian and spiritual principles that our land inspires us with. The land that God has made sacred, the land of dialogue between heaven and earth, God and man, and man and man. These are the uplifting spiritual principles that Christians and Moslems share in our Holy Land, and they are the same principles that we seek to form, the bases for the establishment of our State and for our national and social life.
As we celebrate this holy occasion, we would like to congratulate our brothers and sisters in Ibillin as well as in Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine and the whole world. We reiterate our gratitude to the Papacy of the Catholic Church for the canonization of two nuns from Palestine. We ask God the Almighty to lead us all and guide our steps towards the achievement of justice, peace and tranquility in Palestine and the whole world President Abbas' end his statement.
6 may 2015
Nuns Marie Alphonsine Ghattas of Jerusalem and Mariam Bawardy of Galilee will be canonized at the Vatican later this month.
Jerusalem's Latin Patriarchate on Wednesday hailed the upcoming canonization by Pope Francis of two nuns who will become the first modern-day saints from Ottoman-ruled Palestine.
Marie Alphonsine Ghattas of Jerusalem and Mariam Bawardy of Galilee, both of whom lived in Ottoman Palestine during the 19th century, will be canonized at the Vatican in Rome later this month. "In Rome, Pope Francis will declare on May 17 two Palestinian nuns as saints, and we are in full preparation," Bishop William Shomali told journalists.
The pair's canonization "means that holiness is still possible, that... spiritual perfection is still possible," he said. "Our Holy Land continues to be holy, not only because of the holy places it hosts, but also because good people live here." Pope Francis announced in February that the two nuns would be canonized - the first Arabs from Ottoman-ruled Palestine to gain sainthood. Mary-Alphonsine Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1847, and died there in 1927. She was an educator and spent time working as a nurse. The nun, who was born in Jerusalem in 1847, opened schools in Jordan and in Palestine, and was described as an active promoter of women’s education. She was beatified - the final step before canonization - in 2009.
Mariam Bawardy was born in the village of Ibilin in Galilee in 1843 and became associated with the Carmelite Order, founding convents in India and in Bethlehem. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878. Described as a mystic who taught others how to pray and to feel close to God, Bawrdy was also almost entirely illiterate. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1983.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine. The process of canonization is long and as such the woman are only just now moving towards sainthood, despite Bawardy starting the process as far back as 1927. In order to become a saint an individual must have lived an exemplary holy and ethical life; be proven by history scholars to have inspired other Christians who worshiped with them; and to have two miracles attributed to them since their death.
"The Catholic Church has its own parameters to honor the best and outstanding among its faithful," Shomali said.
Bawardy, who lived a troubled life – being orphaned at the age of two and dying herself aged only 33 - was reported to have been visited by miracles throughout her short lifetime, in the form of religious ecstasies and stigmata.
Ghattas was believed to perform a miracle in 2009, when a group of young girls fell into a septic tank and survived after being submerged for several minutes. One of the girls' mothers said she had prayed to Ghattas to save her daughter.
"Our Holy Land has given hundreds of saints during its long history. Our greatest saint is Holy Mary, mother of Jesus. "But we have three only from the modern period, whose language was not Greek, or Latin, nor Aramaic, but Arabic."
The canonization of a third Palestinian - a Salesian monk - is still under review by the Church.
There are believed to be over 10,000 catholic saints. The Church is careful as to who is canonized and limits the number of individuals. During his 27 years as pope John Paul II canonized 110 saints, a figure that was considered higher than usual. The purpose of canonization is to officially recognize the veneration of an individual and to confirm that God is working through them.
The veneration of these saints will be an important moment for Catholic Palestinians, Iness Al-Yacoub, Superior General of the Rosary Sisters of Jerusalem told The Media Line. She explained that it showed that religion went beyond individuality or nationality, “This is good for the Palestinian people, for Arabs and for all of the world. It means that we have to love and accept others. We have to forgive and to be peace makers.”
Just over two percent of people living in Israel are Christian, around 160,000 people, of whom many are Catholics.
Jerusalem's Latin Patriarchate on Wednesday hailed the upcoming canonization by Pope Francis of two nuns who will become the first modern-day saints from Ottoman-ruled Palestine.
Marie Alphonsine Ghattas of Jerusalem and Mariam Bawardy of Galilee, both of whom lived in Ottoman Palestine during the 19th century, will be canonized at the Vatican in Rome later this month. "In Rome, Pope Francis will declare on May 17 two Palestinian nuns as saints, and we are in full preparation," Bishop William Shomali told journalists.
The pair's canonization "means that holiness is still possible, that... spiritual perfection is still possible," he said. "Our Holy Land continues to be holy, not only because of the holy places it hosts, but also because good people live here." Pope Francis announced in February that the two nuns would be canonized - the first Arabs from Ottoman-ruled Palestine to gain sainthood. Mary-Alphonsine Ghattas was born in Jerusalem in 1847, and died there in 1927. She was an educator and spent time working as a nurse. The nun, who was born in Jerusalem in 1847, opened schools in Jordan and in Palestine, and was described as an active promoter of women’s education. She was beatified - the final step before canonization - in 2009.
Mariam Bawardy was born in the village of Ibilin in Galilee in 1843 and became associated with the Carmelite Order, founding convents in India and in Bethlehem. She became a nun in France and died in Bethlehem in 1878. Described as a mystic who taught others how to pray and to feel close to God, Bawrdy was also almost entirely illiterate. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1983.
Although there are several saints who lived in the region during Christianity's early days, Bawardy and Ghattas are the first to be canonized from Ottoman-era Palestine. The process of canonization is long and as such the woman are only just now moving towards sainthood, despite Bawardy starting the process as far back as 1927. In order to become a saint an individual must have lived an exemplary holy and ethical life; be proven by history scholars to have inspired other Christians who worshiped with them; and to have two miracles attributed to them since their death.
"The Catholic Church has its own parameters to honor the best and outstanding among its faithful," Shomali said.
Bawardy, who lived a troubled life – being orphaned at the age of two and dying herself aged only 33 - was reported to have been visited by miracles throughout her short lifetime, in the form of religious ecstasies and stigmata.
Ghattas was believed to perform a miracle in 2009, when a group of young girls fell into a septic tank and survived after being submerged for several minutes. One of the girls' mothers said she had prayed to Ghattas to save her daughter.
"Our Holy Land has given hundreds of saints during its long history. Our greatest saint is Holy Mary, mother of Jesus. "But we have three only from the modern period, whose language was not Greek, or Latin, nor Aramaic, but Arabic."
The canonization of a third Palestinian - a Salesian monk - is still under review by the Church.
There are believed to be over 10,000 catholic saints. The Church is careful as to who is canonized and limits the number of individuals. During his 27 years as pope John Paul II canonized 110 saints, a figure that was considered higher than usual. The purpose of canonization is to officially recognize the veneration of an individual and to confirm that God is working through them.
The veneration of these saints will be an important moment for Catholic Palestinians, Iness Al-Yacoub, Superior General of the Rosary Sisters of Jerusalem told The Media Line. She explained that it showed that religion went beyond individuality or nationality, “This is good for the Palestinian people, for Arabs and for all of the world. It means that we have to love and accept others. We have to forgive and to be peace makers.”
Just over two percent of people living in Israel are Christian, around 160,000 people, of whom many are Catholics.
23 apr 2015
By: Alex Shams
The Armenian community of the Holy Land this week marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of a series of massacres and pogroms against the community in their ancestral homeland in Eastern Anatolia.
Large numbers of the community’s approximately 5,000 members in Palestine are expected to take part in commemorations for the 1.5 million lives lost in the Armenian Genocide, which took place during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire.
The official centenary date falls on Friday, April 24, but commemorations are expected to begin on Thursday and continue over two days.On Thursday evening at 6.15 p.m., bells from the 13 major churches in the Old City will toll 100 times to commemorate the deaths.
Later that night, Armenians will march by candlelight from the Old City to an Armenian church in West Jerusalem near the German Colony. The church is part of a large amount of property Armenians lost in 1948, when Zionist militias expelled Palestinians -- Arab and Armenian alike -- from their homes in what became Israel.
On Friday evening, meanwhile, inter-communal services will be held at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with representatives of all churches from across Jerusalem present.Earlier in the day, a protest will be held in front of the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem. Although the killings were organized by elites in the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state to the Turkish Republic, Turkey has long denied that the killings were pre-planned and community members are angry at what they see as Turkey’s continued impunity for the slaughter.
Armenians have been a part of the fabric of the Holy Land since the 5th century, when the Armenian Kingdom was the first in the world to convert en masse to Christianity. Since then, the community has maintained a small base of a few hundred in Jerusalem centered on a few holy sites.Church spokesman and historian Kevork Hintlian told Ma’an that the situation changed dramatically after the Genocide, when thousands of refugees fled Anatolia and sought refuge in the neighboring Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire.While most ended up in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, a few thousand made their way to Palestine and community numbers surged to around 7-8,000.
In 1948, community numbers peaked at around 15,000, but the ethnic cleansing of Palestine made more than two-thirds of the community’s refugees yet again, fleeing either to the West Bank, Lebanon, or Europe and North America.Today, more than 4,500 Armenians continue to call Palestine home, with the numbers spread between 2,500 in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah, 1,000 in Jaffa, and 1,000 in Haifa.
Although the numbers are much less than they once were, Hintlian told Ma’an that after years of emigration they had steadied in the past decade.Armenians are not the only Palestinian community whose history in the land can be traced back to the Genocide.
There are also about 2,000 Assyrians in the Holy Land today who trace their roots to the Genocide. About two-thirds of that community, which also comes from Eastern Anatolia, lives in Bethlehem, with the remainder primarily in Jerusalem. Today most Assyrians live in northern Iraq, with diaspora populations spread around the world as well.
Widely recognized as one of the first genocides of the 20th century, the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians through deportation and killing is today considered a turning point in the development of the Armenian nation.
Previously a mostly rural community spread across large swathes of the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Anatolia as well as in the southern Caucasus under Russian control, the genocide wiped out almost entirely the Armenian population of Turkey.The community had long intermingled and been a part of the shared Turkish-Armenian-Kurdish culture of the region, but the pogroms ended centuries of history and left the community dispersed across the Middle East and the world.
In the last decade a large movement has emerged within Turkish society to acknowledge the Ottoman Empire’s responsibility for the killings. Marches take place yearly on April 24 in major cities across Turkey, in addition to those around the world.Despite this, the Turkish government continues to deny the Empire’s involvement in the killings, and the issue remains a sensitive issue in the country’s relations with the rest of the world.
The Armenian community of the Holy Land this week marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of a series of massacres and pogroms against the community in their ancestral homeland in Eastern Anatolia.
Large numbers of the community’s approximately 5,000 members in Palestine are expected to take part in commemorations for the 1.5 million lives lost in the Armenian Genocide, which took place during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire.
The official centenary date falls on Friday, April 24, but commemorations are expected to begin on Thursday and continue over two days.On Thursday evening at 6.15 p.m., bells from the 13 major churches in the Old City will toll 100 times to commemorate the deaths.
Later that night, Armenians will march by candlelight from the Old City to an Armenian church in West Jerusalem near the German Colony. The church is part of a large amount of property Armenians lost in 1948, when Zionist militias expelled Palestinians -- Arab and Armenian alike -- from their homes in what became Israel.
On Friday evening, meanwhile, inter-communal services will be held at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with representatives of all churches from across Jerusalem present.Earlier in the day, a protest will be held in front of the Turkish Consulate in Jerusalem. Although the killings were organized by elites in the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state to the Turkish Republic, Turkey has long denied that the killings were pre-planned and community members are angry at what they see as Turkey’s continued impunity for the slaughter.
Armenians have been a part of the fabric of the Holy Land since the 5th century, when the Armenian Kingdom was the first in the world to convert en masse to Christianity. Since then, the community has maintained a small base of a few hundred in Jerusalem centered on a few holy sites.Church spokesman and historian Kevork Hintlian told Ma’an that the situation changed dramatically after the Genocide, when thousands of refugees fled Anatolia and sought refuge in the neighboring Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire.While most ended up in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, a few thousand made their way to Palestine and community numbers surged to around 7-8,000.
In 1948, community numbers peaked at around 15,000, but the ethnic cleansing of Palestine made more than two-thirds of the community’s refugees yet again, fleeing either to the West Bank, Lebanon, or Europe and North America.Today, more than 4,500 Armenians continue to call Palestine home, with the numbers spread between 2,500 in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah, 1,000 in Jaffa, and 1,000 in Haifa.
Although the numbers are much less than they once were, Hintlian told Ma’an that after years of emigration they had steadied in the past decade.Armenians are not the only Palestinian community whose history in the land can be traced back to the Genocide.
There are also about 2,000 Assyrians in the Holy Land today who trace their roots to the Genocide. About two-thirds of that community, which also comes from Eastern Anatolia, lives in Bethlehem, with the remainder primarily in Jerusalem. Today most Assyrians live in northern Iraq, with diaspora populations spread around the world as well.
Widely recognized as one of the first genocides of the 20th century, the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians through deportation and killing is today considered a turning point in the development of the Armenian nation.
Previously a mostly rural community spread across large swathes of the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Anatolia as well as in the southern Caucasus under Russian control, the genocide wiped out almost entirely the Armenian population of Turkey.The community had long intermingled and been a part of the shared Turkish-Armenian-Kurdish culture of the region, but the pogroms ended centuries of history and left the community dispersed across the Middle East and the world.
In the last decade a large movement has emerged within Turkish society to acknowledge the Ottoman Empire’s responsibility for the killings. Marches take place yearly on April 24 in major cities across Turkey, in addition to those around the world.Despite this, the Turkish government continues to deny the Empire’s involvement in the killings, and the issue remains a sensitive issue in the country’s relations with the rest of the world.
15 apr 2015
An Israeli policeman walks past graffiti on the wall of a church near an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem, on May 9, 2014. The graffiti reads "King David for the Jews... Jesus is garbage.
Vandals have smashed gravestones at a Maronite Christian cemetery in a village near Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Israeli police said on Wednesday.
Police opened an investigation after receiving a report about damage to a number of graves at the Christian cemetery in Kufr Birim, spokeswoman Luba Samri said, indicating that the tombstones were "broken and displaced."
Kufr Birim is a derelict Palestinian village whose inhabitants were evicted by Israeli forces 1948 six months after Israel was established and never allowed to return. The village was almost totally razed by the Israeli army in 1953.
Last year, Lebanese patriarch of the Maronite church Beshara Rai paid a historic trip to the Holy Land during which he visited Kufr Birim, pledging to help the displaced villagers return.
There are some 11,400 Maronite Catholics living in Israel.
The police did not say who was behind the attack, but recent years have shown a spate of hate crimes targeting Christian churches and cemeteries, with the perpetrators believed to be Jewish extremists.
On Tuesday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met with church leaders in Jerusalem's Old City, pledging to crack down on religiously inspired hate crime.
So-called "price-tag" attacks are often carried out by Israeli extremists against the Israeli military and Palestinian property, Muslim and Christian alike, in retribution for perceived action against the Jewish-only settlement enterprise throughout the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Following price-tag attacks on Vatican-owned offices in occupied East Jerusalem in May 2014, Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said the government planned to begin using administrative detention against suspected extremists, but has since only given one 30-month prison sentence.
The US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism included price-tag attacks for the first time, citing UN figures of some "399 attacks by extremist Israeli settlers that resulted in Palestinian injuries or property damage" during that year.
In addition to rising hate crimes against Israel's minority groups, Israeli policy itself has been criticized for systematic discrimination against non-Jewish religious groups.
In a report published in 2012, the US State Department highlighted Israeli policies restricting freedom of worship for Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
"Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem," the report said.
"The separation barrier significantly impeded Bethlehem-area Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and made visits to Christian sites in Bethany (al-Eizariya) and Bethlehem difficult for Palestinian Christians who live on the Jerusalem side of the barrier."
Vandals have smashed gravestones at a Maronite Christian cemetery in a village near Israel's northern border with Lebanon, Israeli police said on Wednesday.
Police opened an investigation after receiving a report about damage to a number of graves at the Christian cemetery in Kufr Birim, spokeswoman Luba Samri said, indicating that the tombstones were "broken and displaced."
Kufr Birim is a derelict Palestinian village whose inhabitants were evicted by Israeli forces 1948 six months after Israel was established and never allowed to return. The village was almost totally razed by the Israeli army in 1953.
Last year, Lebanese patriarch of the Maronite church Beshara Rai paid a historic trip to the Holy Land during which he visited Kufr Birim, pledging to help the displaced villagers return.
There are some 11,400 Maronite Catholics living in Israel.
The police did not say who was behind the attack, but recent years have shown a spate of hate crimes targeting Christian churches and cemeteries, with the perpetrators believed to be Jewish extremists.
On Tuesday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met with church leaders in Jerusalem's Old City, pledging to crack down on religiously inspired hate crime.
So-called "price-tag" attacks are often carried out by Israeli extremists against the Israeli military and Palestinian property, Muslim and Christian alike, in retribution for perceived action against the Jewish-only settlement enterprise throughout the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Following price-tag attacks on Vatican-owned offices in occupied East Jerusalem in May 2014, Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said the government planned to begin using administrative detention against suspected extremists, but has since only given one 30-month prison sentence.
The US State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism included price-tag attacks for the first time, citing UN figures of some "399 attacks by extremist Israeli settlers that resulted in Palestinian injuries or property damage" during that year.
In addition to rising hate crimes against Israel's minority groups, Israeli policy itself has been criticized for systematic discrimination against non-Jewish religious groups.
In a report published in 2012, the US State Department highlighted Israeli policies restricting freedom of worship for Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
"Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem," the report said.
"The separation barrier significantly impeded Bethlehem-area Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and made visits to Christian sites in Bethany (al-Eizariya) and Bethlehem difficult for Palestinian Christians who live on the Jerusalem side of the barrier."
11 apr 2015
Israeli soldiers set up checkpoints inside the Holy Sepulchre Church
Israeli police, on Saturday, beefed up their military presence and procedures across Jerusalem, preventing Christians from reaching Al Qiyamah Church to celebrate their holidays.
WAFA correspondence reports that Israeli police set up hundreds of military checkpoints and roadblocks at all entrances of the old city of Jerusalem and at all roads leading to the church, under the pretext of securing the Christians’ celebrations of the Holy Saturday and Easter, on Sunday.
However, the Israelis' intensified procedures prevented Christians from reaching the church in Jerusalem, while the ones from the West Bank were denied access due to Israel’s refusal to issue them entry permits into Jerusalem.
According to al-Jazeera website, “For almost a decade, the Easter celebrations have been marked with clashes between local Christians and Israeli troops, who regularly prevent worshippers from accessing the religious sites.”
The Israeli authorities rarely issues entry permits for Palestinians either for work or for prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which drives a large number of them to enter without permits.
To be noted, “UN Resolution 476 calls for “the protection and preservation of the unique spiritual and religious dimension of the Holy Places in the Jerusalem].” Similarly, the World Council of Church maintains that “Jerusalem must be an open, inclusive and shared city in terms] of sovereignty and citizenship.”
Moreover, “movement restrictions that impede access to religious institutions -and are not necessary for the maintenance of public order - infringe on the rights of the Palestinian population to freedom of religion and worship, according to article 46 of the Hague Regulations, article 58 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 75 of the First Additional Protocol IAP).”
Israeli police, on Saturday, beefed up their military presence and procedures across Jerusalem, preventing Christians from reaching Al Qiyamah Church to celebrate their holidays.
WAFA correspondence reports that Israeli police set up hundreds of military checkpoints and roadblocks at all entrances of the old city of Jerusalem and at all roads leading to the church, under the pretext of securing the Christians’ celebrations of the Holy Saturday and Easter, on Sunday.
However, the Israelis' intensified procedures prevented Christians from reaching the church in Jerusalem, while the ones from the West Bank were denied access due to Israel’s refusal to issue them entry permits into Jerusalem.
According to al-Jazeera website, “For almost a decade, the Easter celebrations have been marked with clashes between local Christians and Israeli troops, who regularly prevent worshippers from accessing the religious sites.”
The Israeli authorities rarely issues entry permits for Palestinians either for work or for prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which drives a large number of them to enter without permits.
To be noted, “UN Resolution 476 calls for “the protection and preservation of the unique spiritual and religious dimension of the Holy Places in the Jerusalem].” Similarly, the World Council of Church maintains that “Jerusalem must be an open, inclusive and shared city in terms] of sovereignty and citizenship.”
Moreover, “movement restrictions that impede access to religious institutions -and are not necessary for the maintenance of public order - infringe on the rights of the Palestinian population to freedom of religion and worship, according to article 46 of the Hague Regulations, article 58 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 75 of the First Additional Protocol IAP).”
10 apr 2015
A coalition of churches and organizations in Jerusalem and Bethlehem have announced that the Holy Saturday festivities in Jerusalem will be televised to worshipers inside the West Bank, allowing those prevented from attending by Israeli restrictions to take part as well.
The Holy Saturday service in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre -- an Orthodox ritual that is believed to involve the miraculous lighting of a fire at the tomb of Jesus Christ, and is followed by the fire's spread across Palestine and the world -- will be broadcast on special screens in both Bethlehem and Beit Jala.
The Bethlehem Peace Center said in a statement that the screenings were a coordinated effort by the the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, the municipality of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Peace Center, and the Beit Jala Greek Orthodox Parish of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
"The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, working in the Holy Land for the well-being of mind, spirit and body, hopes that this event will be the first of an annual Holy Week tradition to strengthen the sacred and ever-lasting bond of Christian unity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem," the statement read.
One screen will be erected at the Peace Center in Manger Square in Bethlehem and another in the courtyard of the Virgin Mary Church in nearby Beit Jala.
Israel distributes a limited number of permits to allow Palestinian Christians to attend religious festivals in Jerusalem, but the screenings will allow the thousands who were restricted from going to take part in the festival, which is known in Arabic at "Saturday of Fire."
The screenings will take place beginning at around noon and will last until the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos emerges from the Tomb of Christ with the lit holy fire, which usually happens around 2 or 2:30 PM.
After the Patriarch emerges from the tomb, the fire will be spread to worshipers in all directions. Marches from Jerusalem generally arrive at the Israeli checkpoint at the entrance to Bethlehem about an hour after, and from there marches to the centers of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour take off with thousands of locals accompanying.
In the past, Palestinian Christian officials have decried Israeli restrictions on the community's access to holy sites in Jerusalem.
About 50,000 Palestinian Christians live in the West Bank, 1,500 in Gaza, and 150,000 inside Israel.
Hundreds of thousands more live in diaspora or as refugees around the world. In 1948, about half of all Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land were driven from their homes as part of the wider expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in order to create the state of Israel.
Those that remain face widespread restrictions, similar to their Muslim Palestinian neighbors.
In a report published in 2012, the US State Department highlighted Israeli policies restricting freedom of worship for Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
"Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem," the report said.
"The separation barrier significantly impeded Bethlehem-area Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and made visits to Christian sites in Bethany (al-Eizariya) and Bethlehem difficult for Palestinian Christians who live on the Jerusalem side of the barrier."
East Jerusalem, including the historic Old City, was occupied by Israeli forces in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the international community.
The Holy Saturday service in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre -- an Orthodox ritual that is believed to involve the miraculous lighting of a fire at the tomb of Jesus Christ, and is followed by the fire's spread across Palestine and the world -- will be broadcast on special screens in both Bethlehem and Beit Jala.
The Bethlehem Peace Center said in a statement that the screenings were a coordinated effort by the the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, the municipality of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Peace Center, and the Beit Jala Greek Orthodox Parish of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
"The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, working in the Holy Land for the well-being of mind, spirit and body, hopes that this event will be the first of an annual Holy Week tradition to strengthen the sacred and ever-lasting bond of Christian unity between Jerusalem and Bethlehem," the statement read.
One screen will be erected at the Peace Center in Manger Square in Bethlehem and another in the courtyard of the Virgin Mary Church in nearby Beit Jala.
Israel distributes a limited number of permits to allow Palestinian Christians to attend religious festivals in Jerusalem, but the screenings will allow the thousands who were restricted from going to take part in the festival, which is known in Arabic at "Saturday of Fire."
The screenings will take place beginning at around noon and will last until the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos emerges from the Tomb of Christ with the lit holy fire, which usually happens around 2 or 2:30 PM.
After the Patriarch emerges from the tomb, the fire will be spread to worshipers in all directions. Marches from Jerusalem generally arrive at the Israeli checkpoint at the entrance to Bethlehem about an hour after, and from there marches to the centers of Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour take off with thousands of locals accompanying.
In the past, Palestinian Christian officials have decried Israeli restrictions on the community's access to holy sites in Jerusalem.
About 50,000 Palestinian Christians live in the West Bank, 1,500 in Gaza, and 150,000 inside Israel.
Hundreds of thousands more live in diaspora or as refugees around the world. In 1948, about half of all Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land were driven from their homes as part of the wider expulsion and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in order to create the state of Israel.
Those that remain face widespread restrictions, similar to their Muslim Palestinian neighbors.
In a report published in 2012, the US State Department highlighted Israeli policies restricting freedom of worship for Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
"Strict closures and curfews imposed by the Israeli government negatively affected residents' ability to practice their religion at holy sites, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem," the report said.
"The separation barrier significantly impeded Bethlehem-area Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and made visits to Christian sites in Bethany (al-Eizariya) and Bethlehem difficult for Palestinian Christians who live on the Jerusalem side of the barrier."
East Jerusalem, including the historic Old City, was occupied by Israeli forces in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the international community.