Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip have charged Israeli authorities with issuing Christmas travel permits to some family members but not others.
Fr Mario da Silva, Parish Priest of Gaza, told Independent Catholic News:
“Last year, 300 permits were given to the Christians in Gaza to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, but only to people over the age of 55. This year, 500 permits were approved by Israel. But until this moment, we have only received around 250 permits for people over the age of 55 and between the ages of 16 and 35. However, children under the age of 16 were not included.”
The Middle East Concern organization said that #Israel rejected all requests by the Christians of #Gaza for permits to enter Bethlehem, except for ‘people over 55 years of age,’ which constituted only 400 permits.https://t.co/CBm3EeoOTa
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) December 20, 2018
Fr Mario added:
“Israel is using a policy of separation between parents and children. It gives a permit to the father but deprives the mother and the children of the same document. Thus, the family decides not to go and stay together in Gaza.”
The report noted that “for Palestinian Christians of Gaza, obtaining a permit to celebrate Christmas and Easter in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, presents an opportunity to escape their horrific reality; an act that Israel fears and rejects by placing more restrictions on their travel.”
Israeli occupation authorities supposedly granted 500 permits for Christian Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to travel to Bethlehem for Christmas, but a local priest says they've only received 250 permits for people aged 55+ and between the ages of 16 & 35.https://t.co/NZnKjgSXLx
— Ben White (@benabyad) December 20, 2018
While foreign tourists “enjoy and make pilgrimages to religious shrines in the Holy Land as their integral human right to freedom of religion, indigenous Palestinians are still slapped with restrictive privileges in the form of military permits to do the same.”
Fr. Mario concluded:
“Gaza’s Christians should not require permits to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem. It is their right to travel and pray without restrictions!”
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
