Following the Iranian missile attack late Saturday, Palestinian Christians living in the Bethlehem area, expressed gratitude that Israel has its own air defense systems, the Israeli news agency TPS reported, quoted by BTA.
"I said to myself - Thank God for the existence of the "Iron Dome" system. She definitely saved people's lives here. We don't have any bomb shelters to hide in, so if a rocket had landed here, there would have been many victims," the representative of the Beit Jala Christian community, near Bethlehem, told TPS.
The resident, a middle-aged family man, who wished to remain anonymous as he feared his family and business would become a target for Palestinian Muslims, added: "At first we thought it would be business as usual, that Iran just talking to the wind,'' he recalls. "Then in the middle of the night I went out on the balcony and saw that rockets were flying under the "Iron Dome". I live in an area near a few Jewish homes on one side, and on the other side are all Arab homes, and the rockets were going right at them. It was then that I witnessed the interception," he adds.
The interception of missiles that he saw was not with the help of the famous "Iron Dome" system, but with the help of the anti-missile shield "Arrow 3". ("Arrow 3"), which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles at high altitudes, even outside the Earth's atmosphere. "As Christians we are a minority group here and the loss of one human life equals thousands because of the statistical ratio of Muslims in the area, so the damage I imagine could be even greater," he insists.< /p>
"In my opinion, the technology that Israel uses has been proven to save people's lives not only on the Israeli side, but also Arabs on the other side of the fence, and it is important to acknowledge and thank God for that," he added. he. Elias Tsarina, a Christian activist from Jerusalem, told TPS that he views high-tech defense through the lens of coexistence.
"David's sling" guard the city of David", noted the Tsarina, referring to the name of Bethlehem from the Christian Bible. Tsarina is the co-founder and community leader of a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization that promotes the integration of Arab Christians into Israeli society.
"In the face of difficulties, the Israeli defense systems give hope to all who strive for peace and security in this region,", emphasized Tsarina. "Israel has demonstrated a commitment to the protection of all residents, regardless of their origins and beliefs. This is the idea of coexistence of the different communities in this land.
On Saturday evening, Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, published in "X" video showing an Iranian missile being intercepted over the Temple Mount. "Iran fired ballistic missiles at Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem last night. Watch how the Israeli air defense system "Iron Dome" intercept them and how he saves the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Iran," Gendelman wrote in "X".
Palestinian Christians in Judea and Samaria have faced discrimination and harassment for years, forcing members of the community to flee the Middle East.
Tsarina surveyed Christian communities in the Holy Land and told the TPS in January that their population was declining. Giving the example of Bethlehem, he said that when the accords were signed in 1993, Christians made up 88% of the city's population. Three decades later, Christians already make up only 12% of Bethlehem's population of around 29,000. Tsarina told TPS that most Christians forced to do so by Muslims.