Fr Manuel Musallem, the Catholic priest in Gaza, has retired and is leaving Gaza. (Farewell to Gaza's Courageous Priest, Stuart Littlewood, reporting for aljazeera.com).
"Many of us had feared that ill health had forced him to hang up his cassock last year, but he returned to the fray to be with his community during their darkest hour when Isael's psycopaths, with a nod from America and the EU, unleashed their blitzkrieg intended to finally crush the isolated and half-starved Gazans.
"This is simply the continuation of a hateful religious war by Zionist fanatics to oust Muslims and Christiand from the Holy Land.
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"I was privileged to meet the crusty old churchman in 2007 when things in Gaza were already unbearable after 18 months of blockade and savage sanctions. For nine years Fr Manuel had been unable to leave the Strip to see his family for fear that the Israelis would block his return and leave his church and school without a priest."
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"He has frequently spoken up about the torment and hardship inflicted on the Gazan people. ...."Our precious trees have been uprooted. Our buildings have been destroyed. Our streets have been destroyed. Our land has been burnt by bombs and so we cannot produce anything. .........He warned that the people were becoming more agressive. "There is a lot more hate towards the situation they are in- especially among the young."
"Fr Manuel was also greatly troubled by the exodus of Christians to escape the never-ending Israeli oppression and seek a better life elsewhere,..........
"He also speaks with anguish of the 1400 Gazans killed in the latest blitz, the many thousands left homeless, and the hundreds of thousands without running water, sanitation, a proper diet or medical care.
To quote a message he sent: "our people are treated like animals in a zoo." After describing the horrific conditions, he wrote, "Like the early Christians, our people are living through a time of great persecution, a persecution which we must record for future generations as a statement of their faith, hope and love."