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TEL AVIV — The future of a tiny Christian community in the Gaza Strip is in doubt after the takeover of Gaza by the militant Islamist group Hamas. Recent attacks and threats against churches and institutions affiliated with the Christian community of about 2,000 have raised questions about the fate of minorities in the densely populated coastal strip of 1.5 million people now under Islamist control. Christians say the primary danger comes not from Hamas — which has an interest in protecting Christians — but from more-fanatic Muslim groups that are sprouting up amid its rise. "They are small groups...

For Gaza's Christians, new reality unsettling http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4922964.html June 27, 2007, 3:23AM Hamas vows to protect them after convent, school are attacked, but some still want to leave By DIAA HADID Associated Press TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Subscribe NOW Comments Recommend RESOURCES More from the mideast Israeli military denies staging Gaza attack Arab countries struggle as Palestinian fight heats For Gaza's Christians, new reality unsettling GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP — Broken crucifixes and shards from a statue of Jesus Christ have been swept up, but Gaza's tiny Christian community says the violent warning sent by Islamic militants cannot be...

Broken crucifixes and shards from a statue of Jesus have been swept up, but Gaza's tiny Christian community says the violent warning sent by Islamic militants cannot be erased. The ransacking of a Catholic convent and an adjacent Rosary Sisters school during Hamas' sweep to power broke more than wood and plaster. It signaled the end of a relatively peaceful, if sometimes uneasy, relationship between Gaza's 1.4 million Muslims and 3,000 Christians. Despite promises of protection by Hamas leaders, Christians fear more attacks, and some say they want to leave. Gaza's flock already has been hit hard by emigration in...

JERUSALEM – Christians can continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, an Islamist militant leader in Gaza told WND in an exclusive interview. The militant leader said Christians in Gaza who engage in "missionary activity" will be "dealt with harshly." The threats come two days after a church and Christian school in Gaza was attacked following the seizure of power in the territory by the Hamas terror group. "I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means...

Christians living in Gaza City on Monday appealed to the international community to protect them against increased attacks by Muslim extremists. Many Christians said they were prepared to leave the Gaza Strip as soon as the border crossings are reopened. The appeal came following a series of attacks on a Christian school and church in Gaza City over the past few days. Father Manuel Musalam, leader of the small Latin community in the Gaza Strip, said masked gunmen torched and looted the Rosary Sisters School and the Latin Church. "The masked gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to storm the main entrances...