A group of Palestinian Christians representing a variety of churches and church-related organizations have issued an animated and prayerful call for an end to occupation of Palestine by Israel.

The call, issued at a 11 December meeting in Bethlehem, comes at a time when many Palestinians believe they have reached a dead end. It raises questions to the international community, political leaders in the region, and the churches worldwide about their contribution to the Palestinian people's pursuit of freedom. Even in the midst of "our catastrophe" the call is described as a word of faith, hope and love.

www.wfn.org Web site, Dec 12, 2009

Ultra-Orthodox political pressure has stalled the construction of a church and a mosque at Ben-Gurion International Airport for the past five years, aviation sources told Haaretz.

This came to light after several clergy members wrote to the Israel Airports Authority, requesting it allow for a church in Terminal 3.

Haaretz inquired, and learned that the plans for the new terminal included both a church and a mosque, but that they never were built.

Haaretz, Zohar Blumenkrantz Nov 22, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a private audience Oct. 8 at the Vatican.

During the meeting in the papal library, the two men discussed the problems in the Middle East and the need to find "a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which the rights of all are recognized and respected," said a statement from the Vatican press office.

by Sarah Delaney, Catholic News Service, October 8, 2009

The methods of harassment and persecution used by the ultra-Orthodox organization Yad L'Achim against innocent, law-abiding Israeli citizens goes beyond the limits of legitimate activity by a civilian body and borders on unlawful. The organization, which has deployed a dense net of activists across the country and the world, is proud of "rescuing" Jewish men, women and children from the "claws" of other faiths and belief systems using coercive and dubious tactics.

Particularly serious is the fact - revealed by Yuval Azoulay in the October 2 edition of the Hebrew-language Haaretz Magazine - that behind the threats, the spreading of harmful rumors and harassment are not only the thugs of Yad L'Achim, but top Interior Ministry officials.

Editorial, Haaretz, October 6, 2009

The Patriarch of Jerusalem tells Ed West that the only thing that will keep the faithful in the Holy Land is a lasting peace.

'Thank you for this interview, I hope you can help us through your good influence on the news," says the man opposite me, His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The Catholic Herald, September 25 2009

Dan Wooding, 68, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS).

In this story, he writes about the his peaceful return to the Bethlehem Bible College to meet with its founder, Dr. Bishara Awad.

By Dan Wooding, ASSIST Ministries, Sep 28, 2009

The unholy relationship between religious Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Christian Evangelical Zionists continues to bring amusing stories.

"Receiving tens of millions of dollars annually from Christian preachers and enlisting their support against political initiatives is a great deed. But exposing our children, heaven forbid, to their doctrines? There is a limit"

Read this interesting commentary by Akiva Eldar, Haaretz, Sep 29, 2009

A group of Jewish extremists attacked on Sunday afternoon two young Armenians and destroyed a cross near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in East Jerusalem’s Old City.

Israeli settlers such as these have attacked for years members of the clergy in the Armenian Quarter. Today the Armenians who were assaulted Sunday are not being protected, but rather expelled.

Jerusalem / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh for PNN

Nashat Filmon said in a visit to Bible Society in the UK that Israel and Palestine were both to blame for the recent war in Gaza.

“War is a crime. Both parties are equally responsible for the recent war and the destruction that has taken place,” he said.

After few talk-backs challenged the "equally responsible" in the original news item, Nashat Filimon writes a talk-back for "Come and See" to clarify: "There is no question about who is the oppressed and who is the oppressor, we all know that. The challenge here is taking responsibility of the provocative actions knowing that it will harm us and the whole nation"

Christian Today, Sep 17, 2009