As the second Christmas under Israeli bombardment draws near, nearly 1,000 Palestinian Christians are sheltering in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius and the Latin Monastery in the center of Gaza City. For more than a year now, since the beginning of Israel’s assault on the Strip, they have been living in these two churches with hardly any food, water, or electricity.
Among them is 47-year-old Ramez Suhail Al-Suri, a Palestinian Christian from Gaza City. Before the war, Al-Suri fondly recollected, Christmas was a joyous time for him and his family — his wife, Helen, and his three children, Suhail (14), Julie (12), and Majd (11).
“In Gaza during the holidays, we had a Christmas tree [at home], but we used to go to the market and buy new clothes, chocolate, and decorations so that the children would be happy,” Al-Suri recounted to +972. “We also would participate in church celebrations — we had a lot of joy in our lives.”…..more
