Posted: 10/7/2007 8:53:00 AM
Author: Khaled Abu Toameh
Source: This article apeared in the Jerusalem Post online edition on October 7, 2007.
Palestinian Christian Found Dead in Gaza: Director of Strip's Only Christian Bookstore Had Been Threatened
by Khaled Abu Toameh
The body of a Christian official who was kidnapped over the weekend was discovered in Gaza City early Sunday, Palestinian sources said.
The man was identified as Rami Ayyad, 31, director of The Teacher's Bookshop, which is operated by the Palestinian Bible Society.
Although no group claimed responsibility for the murder, a number of Christians in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that Ayyad had received several death threats in the past from radical Muslims who accused him of conducting missionary activities.
His bookshop and the Palestinian Bible Society had been the target of repeated attacks over the past two years.
They noted that attacks on members of the 2,500-strong Christian community in the Gaza Strip had increased in recent months, especially since Hamas took full control over the area.
Two weeks ago, an elderly Christian woman living in Gaza City was beaten and robbed by a masked man who accused her of being an "infidel."
In Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority police are investigating last week's stabbing of a 27-year-old Christian man, who was seriously injured.
Shortly after the Hamas takeover, a local Christian school and a monastery were looted and set on fire.
News of Ayyad's murder shocked members of his family and friends and raised fears that the Hamas government, despite repeated promises, was not able to protect the local Christian community.
Ayyad went missing over the weekend and his family and friends rushed to lodge a complaint with the Hamas security forces.
Ihab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas Interior Ministry, which is responsible for security, said the body was discovered in an agricultural field known as Dunum Abu Daf near the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
He refused to specify the cause of death, only saying that the body had been transferred to a local hospital for a forensic examination. However, Palestinian reporters told the Post that Ayyad had been fatally stabbed...
