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Christians Fleeing Gaza, Fearing Persecution
(Sputnik-Russia) Elizabeth Blade - Kamal Tarazi, 60, a Christian from Gaza, is now living on the streets of Nazareth but says he prefers to stay there than to go back to Gaza, where he had lived his entire life. He fled Gaza in 2007 after Hamas seized control from Fatah. "The moment they took control, they started persecuting us, ruining our churches and forcing Christians to convert to Islam," he recalls. Released after two months in a Hamas prison, Tarazi applied for a permit to travel to Bethlehem to attend religious ceremonies for Christmas. Once in the West Bank, he vowed he would never go back, and he is not alone. Before 2007, there were 3,500 Christians in Gaza. Now, there are no more than 1,300 and Tarazi says the actual number is 500.