On 29 June 2015, Christians in Jerusalem were alarmed by
pamphlets signed by "˜the Islamic State Emirate of Jerusalem", calling on them to leave the city before the end of Ramadan or be slaughtered - "˜except those who espouse Islam". According to Bridges for Peace, the pamphlet called for residents to pass on addresses of Christians as they have traced most of them but not all. The question arises whether the pamphlets actually originate from IS or merely from a group of agitators. Whoever is behind the pamphlets, the issue is whether they are prepared to turn words into actions. ‚ Israel is certainly on IS"s agenda. In their most recent magazine "˜Dabiq" the IS leader of the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus said: "˜(-)
we ask Allah to strengthen us so that we liberate Dimashq (Damascus), al-Quds (Jerusalem), and Rome".
Henriette Kats, persecution analyst for World Watch Monitor (WWR), cautions: "˜The Islamic State clearly aims to capture Damascus and their occupation of the refugee camp Yarmouk is an essential step to achieving this. Next in line is Jerusalem and then Rome which stands for the Christian western world. IS is expanding its influence and approaching Israel on many fronts: An IS affiliated group carried out attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai on 1 July 2015, close to the border with Gaza. A previous bimonthly already mentioned the presence of IS sympathizers in Gaza and the West Bank. In a video message issued on 30 June, Islamic State has even threatened to uproot Hamas, just like Fatah and "˜the state of the Jews". Also in the north, on the Golan Heights, IS fighters are approaching the border with Israel."
Henriette adds: "Apart from the pamphlets, there are other factors pointing to IS sympathy within Israel. Several Israeli Arab families have left the country to join IS. Palestinian Christians have recently indicated that more and more Muslims in Israel and the Palestinian Territories seem to have
radicalized and react more aggressively towards them. As reported by Bridges for Peace, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Sebastia Atallah Hanna takes the threats seriously but states boldly: "˜
To all those who classify themselves as ISIS, we would like to tell them that we will stay in Jerusalem and in Palestine." He called upon them to "˜repent and restore reason". Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah also said Christians will not be scared into leaving. Brave words indeed and we hope local Christians can live up to them."
