Numbers of Christians in PA areas steadily decreasing
Headline: “During the days of Christmas – Nablus loses the ‘guardian’ of the unity”
“In Nablus there is an unusual picture: Muslims, Christians, and Samaritans (see note below –Ed.) living together in coexistence, without any palpable atmosphere of religious discrimination (see note below regarding the PA’s claims of “coexistence” –Ed.). The connections between them are intertwined, and therefore one sees Christians decorating the streets on the birthday of Prophet [Muhammad], Muslims participating in lighting the Christmas tree, and Samaritans blessing the Muslims and Christians for their holidays – and all of them ascend Mt. Gerizim on the Samaritan holidays.
Father Yusuf Sa’adeh, who died at the beginning of the month [December 2019], was once recorded on camera standing together with the participants of Friday prayers at Martyrs Square in Nablus as a sign of resistance to the occupation’s crimes. In the audience of worshippers, he prayed to Allah in his own way that He liberate Palestine, protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and aid the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity…
Islamic preacher Zuheir Debiy told [the official PA daily] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that he never heard Father Yusuf Sa’adeh say ‘I am a Christian’; he would say ‘I am a Palestinian refugee from Haifa,’ and always stood alongside his people’s cause…
He added, ‘The occupation has attempted to manipulate identity and religious discourse, particularly to the tune of sectarianism, and Father Sa’adeh was one of those who discerned the occupation’s plot.’ …
Six hundred Christians live in Nablus. This number, which is decreasing, worried Father Yusuf Sa’adeh,and he expressed this in an interview he gave in the past to Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. He emphasized that the number of Christians in Nablus and all of Palestine is on the decline, and said that in the 1950s and 1960s the number of Christians in Nablus stood at 3,000, while currently the number is just 600. Likewise, at the same time the percentage of Christians in Bethlehem was 85%, while currently they constitute no more than 17%. The situation is similar in Jerusalem, where the number of Christians is no greater than 600, while in the past they numbered more than 3,500…
In his last interview with Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, he said, among other things: ‘Jesus was born in this holy land; Muhammad, peace be upon him, visited Palestine in his Night Journey; and Omar ibn Al-Khattib (i.e., a caliph and one of Muhammad's companions) visited Nablus in the year 636.Therefore, the Palestinians who are able – Christians and Muslims alike – need to return immediately to their homeland. Emigration is not an option. Standing firm on the land is the only option.’”