After Christian family is attacked by Palestinians, PA blames Israel: "The Israeli occupation is attempting to harm the unity of our Palestinian people"
Headline: “A national demonstration emphasizes our people’s unity and opposes the attack on the Nassar family in Nahalin”
“The [PA] Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, the Bethlehem District, and the Nahalin Municipality organized a Palestinian national demonstration yesterday, Saturday [Feb. 19, 2022], on the land of the Nassar family in the town of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem. This was in order to emphasize the unity of blood and fate between members of our people, and to express Palestinian opposition to and condemnation of the incident of the [Christian] family being attacked by a number of masked people on the background of conflicts around a plot of land…
PLO Executive Committee member and Supreme Committee for Church Affairs Chairman Dr. Ramzi Khouri and Bethlehem District Governor Kamel Hamid participated in the demonstration…
Khouri said that ‘We came to Nahalin today like someone coming home.’ He expressed confidence that we are all making sure that Palestine’s message will be uniform: We are all members of one people. He conveyed [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas’ blessings to the residents of Nahalin, to the Nassar family, and to all our people in the Bethlehem district that constitutes an example of love and comradeship. He emphasized: ‘What happened and what is happening today on this land constitutes an achievement, because it gives those who want to harm the image of Palestine the message that they are wrong, and also those who attempt to harm our unity. This is because we are conveying the message that we are united here, that we are one body, and that we will continue the path of struggle and the path of the Martyrs of Palestine and of Nahalin. We emphasize that the sacrifices they have made will not be in vain.’
Khouri emphasized: ‘Jerusalem is our central battle, and we must fight for its continued existence and in order to protect the sites that are holy to Islam and Christianity, because the Israeli occupation is attempting to harm these holy sites by harming the unity of our Palestinian people.’ …
[Bethlehem District Governor] Hamid said that he is ‘happy to see this audience and this presence, which reflects our people’s true nature and the comradeship and love between its members.’ He emphasized that ‘What happened is foreign to the leaders and tradition of our Palestinian people,’ and explained that the gathering today in this quantity and quality is a clear message that we are united, that we oppose assault, and that we will settle accounts with anyone who attacked [the Nassar family] within the framework of the law and the Palestinian legal system.’
The Bethlehem district governor added: ‘This land and this area, which the occupation is targeting for its settlement plans, are a story of struggle and defiance.
Therefore, it always strives to provoke strife and attempts to spread throughout the entire world the claim that there are conflicts among the Palestinians.’ He emphasized that this demonstration constitutes a clear message to the occupation and its helpers that Bethlehem and Palestine, with their Muslim and Christian residents, are united against its racist actions.’ …
Sheikh Muhammad Shakarneh said in a speech on behalf of the residents, respected figures, and institutions of Nahalin: ‘In the Quran there is a great statement, and it is that the people who are closest to Islam and the Muslims are our brothers the Christians, monks, and priests who have love for Islam and the Muslims in their hearts.’ …
He emphasized: ‘The dispute is with the invading enemy who came from outside and is stealing the Palestinian land, whether its owners are Christian or Muslim. Therefore, we will not be enemies, in spite of the existence of disagreements that will be settled through the law and the legal system, and no one will be allowed to take the law into his own hands.’”