G a z a – A well-known Palestinian Christian living in the Gaza Strip has been murdered by still-unknown assailants. The victim is Rami Khader Ayyad, head of a Christian bookstore in Gaza City. The body of the 32 year-old Baptist was found by Gaza-City police on 7 October with two gunshot wounds, numerous knife wounds and open fractures. This was reported by the Palestinian Bible Society (PBG), which runs the bookshop. Ayyad, who leaves behind a pregnant wife and two small children, had repeatedly received anonymous death threats in the past. Reports state that following the closing of the store on 6 October, he was followed by a car without license plates. Those in this vehicle apparently kidnapped him. He reported this in a telephone call with his wife. He stated in the conversation that he hoped to be released that evening.

Simon Azazian, a spokesperson for the Bible society in Jerusalem, concludes: “Rami was murdered for his Christian faith.” The Baptist pastor in Gaza, Hanna Massad, declared that an extremist group is responsible for the deed. He was apparently severely beaten. Massad indicated that Ayyad had been followed by unknown persons for a number of days. He had described this to personal friends. Ayyad had belonged to the Roman-Catholic Church before becoming a Baptist, but he had never been a Muslim. The building of the bookshop, in which the local Baptist congregation also meets, has been attacked repeatedly in the past. Yohanna Katanacho, pastor of the Baptist congregation in Nazareth, also condemned the act. He simultaneously called on Baptists to leave no space for feelings of revenge: “We will not relent in our mission nor be paralysed by fear.” He upheld the murder victim as a model for all Palestinian Christians.

Ismail Hanija, political leader of the Gaza Strip’s radical-Islamic Hamas-Movement, condemned the deed. Press reports quote him as saying that he has ordered an investigation. He stressed the fact that Christians and Muslims belong together: “We are a part of the same nation. We cannot allow this historic relationship to be disrupted.” Ayyad was buried almost immediately on 7 October. His hearse was decorated with three Palestinian flags. Approximately 1.000 mourners attended the funeral service. Though Hamas-politicians continue insisting since the crime that Christians should feel safe in the region, press reports confirm that fear is spreading among the Christian minority. Many are worried about the possibility of further attacks by Muslim militants.

In the Gaza Strip, 2.500 Christians live alongside the largely-Muslim majority of 1.5 million.