Faith, politics, and armed resistance: A Palestinian-Christian perspective

When Hatem El-Sayegh addressed a crowd of more than 550 at the Palestinian-Christian-led Church at the Crossroads conference, he said that his remarks were not intended for people to walk away feeling "pro-Palestine," but rather "pro-Christ," because ultimately, the moral path is the godly one, he said.

"We, especially in an individualistic society, measure everything from our own position," he later told Middle East Eye. "It's me, me, me. Christ is for me [and] if I was the only one in the world, Christ would have come for me... but the exclusive Christ is inclusive for all who come to him". 

Like most of Gaza's Muslims, its small Christian community is also religiously devoted and has clung to their faith to get them through two years of what is, by legal definition, a genocide carried out by Israel. 

"Right now it's revolutionary to be pro-Palestinian, but I think what is consistently that revolutionary is to be ever loving in Christ," Hatem's daughter Lydia, who works with the Quaker-inspired Friends Committee on National Legislation, told MEE. 

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