'Church of Nativity' Exiles Still Waiting to Return
Israel has continued to block the return of Palestinians who were forcibly removed from Bethlehem 11 years ago to end the siege of the Church of the Nativity, writes Khaled Kraizim.
Fahmi Kanaan has suffered for 11 years since being forcibly removed from his hometown of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. His only desire is to return to his birthplace after long years of futile demands.
“I want to see my family and live in the town of my birth,” says Kanaan, words that he and other Church of the Nativity deportees have long repeated in the hope of finding someone, anyone, who would heed their call for help to end their predicament, to no avail.
Israel deported 26 Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza and 13 European countries after laying siege to the Church of the Nativity on May 10, 2002. They were deported as a result of a deal reached between the Palestinian Authority and the occupation forces, which stipulated that they be exiled for two years and put an end to a siege that lasted 39 days. Yet the exile has continued to this day as a result of Israel reneging on the agreement.
Close to 250 Palestinians had taken refuge inside the church in 2002, when Israel blockaded West Bank cities and confrontations intensified between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces. Subsequently, Israel deported 39 people it characterized as “terrorists,” according to Kanaan.
