For the 14 years prior to May 2009 Father Manuel Musallam served as the sole Catholic Priest for Gaza, where he had a congregation of some 250 people. However, Fr. Musallam was much more than a leader for Catholics of Gaza but for the other Christians and Muslims in the besieged strip of land. He has recently returned to live in his hometown of Bir Zeit in the West Bank for the first time since 1951.

On Christians and Muslims in Gaza

The situation is not one of division between Christians and Muslims. The big Muslim families are open-minded people, they protect Christian families. Their children go to school together, they live as neighbours. The culture of Islam is to be good neighbours, to invite people to your house and to marriages. Some of the refugees that arrived over the years had never seen a Christian, a priest, a church, an alter, a confessional, a baptismal font. When they saw these things they were curious and asked a lot of questions. They really want to learn and understand. The people of Gaza first identify as Palestinians. 

On the recent war in Gaza

The recent war in Gaza started on December 27th, 2008 and ended with the ceasefire of January 18th. 13 Israelis and estimates of between 1,200 and 1,500 Palestinians died in the conflict. The United Nations has recently sent a War Crimes investigation team to the Gaza Strip. Fr. Musallam recounts some of his experiences of the conflict:

During the war Israeli bombs hit my house. I was lucky as I was not there at the time but there was serious damage done to the house. Six missiles landed in different places around the house. There is a home for disabled children near the house and during the war they were crying day and night. At that time I began to fear for my life. People were asking me why my house was being targeted. The more people asked this the more I got concerned.

The Little Sisters of Jesus were nearby and they were hit directly by a missile; three children were killed in this bombing – their blood was all over the walls. From that time on I was sure I was being targeted. The three Little Sisters of Jesus and I waited in house for a missile to arrive, I was sure I would not survive. We had many troubled moments.

Of course some of our congregation were killed in the war. Nasim Saba (22) was not in his house when aircraft missiles flattened his neighbour's house. Nasim returned to the site the following day. They have a small shop in the house and his brother went inside the shop to check for damage. Nasim stood outside with three others and a direct missile hit killed him.

A student in our school had the experience of seeing his mother cut in half in front of him and his brothers and sisters – it was either shrapnel or a missile that hit her directly.

In the courtyard of the Rosary Sisters school, a phosphorus bomb had landed. I saw it with my own eyes. It could not be touched as it was smoking for two days. After that a friend of mine, a Hamas supporter, removed it. In April when it rained in Gaza it reactivated all these phosphorus bombs and they started smoking again.

Many people went to the hospital with particles of this phosphorus embedded in their bodies. At first some doctors thought it was just shrapnel and they cleaned the people up and sent them home. But two hours later they would come back as the phosphorus in their bodies started smoking again out through their wounds.

Another friend of mine was walking in the street when a missile landed close by. He was badly injured. While he awaited a doctor he was put on a bed beside a window. The IDF targeted a mosque some 20 metres from the window. Of course the window came in and the glass damaged his face badly.

At this stage his family was looking for him and they checked the hospital, they actually came to him and looked at him but the damage to his face was so severe they did not recognise him. For the three days they looked in the body bags outside the hospital for him. There were so many bodies that it was not possible to identify or bury them all.

On the fourth day they came across a family visiting a wounded man. They consoled the family. At this time the patient was sleeping. The father of my friend looked into the face of this sleeping patient and discovered that it was his son. For a while the families argued with each other about whose son it was. When he woke however my friend was able to make it clear who he was, so the other family left, wished him a good recovery and continued searching the body bags outside, weeping looking for their son' body.

On the reaction of the international community and hope for the future

In the current situation there is not enough support. Those who were courageous and spoke out in the past no longer speak out. The money that is sent is welcome but it is simply not enough. The world is not in contact with us. People think that food and water is the main problem. The problem is one of liberation. 1.5 million people are living in a prison and they are being struck with force. Israel is mocking us when we talk to them…the wall, the Judaisation of Jerusalem, the expanding settlements, the land confiscation and people across Palestine simply not getting enough water to drink.

 

We are hoping against hope that there will be a solution. Hope has to be the way, even though we do not see the light. Israel thinks it can exist by force but war is not the way to peace.