BETHLEHEM/GAZA, May 10, 2011 (WAFA) – Families of 39 Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in Bethlehem to live in exile exactly nine years ago, Tuesday gathered in Manger Square in Bethlehem to mark the ninth anniversary of the forced exile of their relatives.
In Gaza, 26 of the 39 Palestinians who were sent to the Gaza Strip organized a sit-in at the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City marking nine years away from their homes and families.
The Israeli army besieged the 39 Palestinians, who were members of the resistance, inside the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem when Israel invaded the West Bank cities and reoccupied them in 2002.
After more than 70 days inside the church, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached a deal whereby the 39 would leave the church to different places throughout the world for one year after which they would be allowed to return home. Israel had since then refused to allow them to return.
The exiled in Gaza and the families in Bethlehem appealed to President Mahmoud Abbas to put an end to their suffering and help them to return to their homes and families in Bethlehem.
M.N./M.A.
