Bethlehemites in Gaza
Channel: aicvideo
Date: 2014-06-11

When Pope Francis visited Palestine recently, one of the many petitions directed to him came from Palestinians who were deported from Bethlehem following the siege of the Church of the Nativity by Israeli forces in 2002. Following the siege, 13 Palestinians were exiled to Europe and 26 to the Gaza Strip. Their letter urged the pontiff to call upon the Israelis to allow all deportees to return to their homes, and invited the pope to see firsthand the suffering of both Muslims and Christians under Israeli siege in Gaza. 

In May of this year, on the 12th anniversary of their deportation, Bethlehemites in Gaza rallied in front of UN offices to present a similar petition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. In this video, spokesman Fahmi Kanan explains the situation faced by Bethlehem deportees in the open air prison that is Gaza.