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Nativity Church deportees appeal to Abbas
[Ma'an] Palestinian combatants deported by Israel from Bethlehem to Gaza after a siege on the Church of the Nativity in 2002 met on Sunday with President Mahmoud Abbas' adviser Abdullah Al-Efranj in Gaza City to deliver an appeal on their behalf. Deportee spokesman Fahmi Kan'an said the letter addressed the deportees' return to Bethlehem and the need for Palestinian unity. "In light of talks on resuming direct negotiations, we demand that the deportees' cause be taken seriously, as we enter our ninth year in exile," the spokesman, who is among the deportees, said. The letter included an appeal to help with travel arrangements for family members to visit the deportees in Gaza, who told the presidential adviser that relatives have been denied travel permits by Israeli authorities. The Nativity Church deportees, both in Gaza and Europe, have launched several appeals to the Palestinian Authority for financial assistance following their exile. The terms of their deportation stipulate that they are not permitted to seek employment. Twenty-six Palestinians who took refuge in the church were expelled to Gaza and 13 were expelled to Europe following Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, during which Israeli forces besieged the church and Bethlehem in a bid to locate Palestinian combatants. Posted by: Fred 2010-08-23 |
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