GAZA CITY, Palestine (ABP) — In the latest violence among warring Palestinian factions, a bomb severely damaged the Palestinian Bible Society building April 15 in Gaza City.
The building, located in the city center, housed the Teacher's Bookshop, Gaza's only Christian bookstore, according to the Baptist World Alliance. The building also includes a library and a community development center. It is the base for one of the largest relief agencies in the Gaza Strip.
Hanna Massad, pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, said the massive explosion occurred around 2 a.m., causing damage much worse than that caused by a previous explosion, which happened a year ago. His wife, Suhad, directs the Bible Society's Gaza ministry.
Before setting the bomb, masked gunmen kidnapped the store security guard, beat him and left him in a deserted area near the city, Massad said. The guard is now in stable condition; there were no other reported injuries.
A press release from the Bible Society confirmed Massad's report, stating that gunmen abducted the security guard and placed the bomb at the door an hour later. Similar attacks aimed at Internet cafes and music stores occurred the same day throughout Gaza.
The attack was a surprise, the press release said, because there had been no clear threats against the store since the pipe bombings last year.
In February 2006, two pipe bombs were placed by unknown terrorists and then detonated in front of the shop. Following that attack, according to Christianity Today, the workers received a letter demanding the shop close permanently. The Bible Society defied that mandate, reopening the store five weeks later.
In recent weeks, radical Islamist groups have begun bombing offices and businesses in Gaza they say aid debauchery and adultery, such as Internet cafes where pornography may be accessed. No groups have claimed responsibility for the bombing, but a group called “The Sword of Islam” has carried out similar bombings in Internet cafes.
Christianity Today reported that Palestinian officials are investigating the Bible Society incident as part of other attacks that have taken place in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Bible Society, which has been operating in the Gaza Strip since 1999, is reported to have a good relationship with nearby Muslims. The society reported that Muslim neighbors assisted in the clean-up operation.
Founded in 1998, the Teacher's Bookshop sells Bibles and Christian books. It also offers public computer classes to the 1.4 million people in Gaza. The Bible Society also works in refugee camps, microenterprise operations and development projects.
Denton Lotz, the BWA's general secretary, condemned the bombings and called for renewed respect for people of all faiths. The world has lost a sense of respect for “that which is sacred,” he said, in a press release.
“We are troubled and very concerned that the Christian Holy Scriptures are treated with disdain by the same individuals who demand a reverence for their religious writings,” he said. “Men and women of goodwill around the world must demand of their governments security for religious institutions and religious freedom for all. We deplore these acts of violence in Gaza and appeal to the leadership to respect all religious traditions.”
Tensions have risen in the Gaza Strip in recent months between Hamas, which now controls the Palestinian Authority government, and Fatah, the previous governing party. At the height of the tensions, in February, Gaza police commandeered the Gaza Baptist Church building for a week, using it as a lookout point for snipers combating Fatah militia members. Massad reported then that it was “the worst situation we have ever gone through in Gaza, even more dangerous than the Israeli invasion of Gaza.”
Massad said Gaza's state of affairs has reached unprecedented levels of deprivation.
“The unemployment rate is more than 40 percent,” he said. “Many employed by the Palestinian National Authority have worked without wages for up to eight months. This makes the effective unemployment rate 70 percent.”
And the extreme pressure of continued conflict has taken a toll on the health of Gaza citizens, causing heart attacks and a lack of proper medical care, Massad said.
The pastor of the lone Baptist church in Palestine, he urged the world to “keep us in your prayers.”
-30-
Read more:
Lebanese, Palestinian Baptists ask for prayer amid continuing strife (2/13/2007)
Palestinian police seize church in gunfight with rival party (2/6/2007)