Clashes persist along Gaza border

At least nine Palestinians died Friday as they clashed with Israeli forces during ongoing protests along the Gaza border.

Since the border protests began on March 30, at least 29 people have died and hundreds of others sustained injuries as Israeli troops responded with force. Both parties remain unwilling to step back, igniting concerns of further violence.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, called for the nonviolent protests against the decade-old border blockade imposed by Egypt and Israel to continue until May 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of Israel’s creation. “We will return to Palestine, our villages and Jerusalem,” Hamas leader Islamil Haniyeh said in a speech Monday at one of the protest camps along the border.

Thousands of Palestinians responded to the call amid growing frustration in the region. The blockade worsened economic conditions, which include a nearly 50 percent unemployment rate and poor living standards. About two-thirds of Gaza’s 2 million residents are descendants of refugees who fled in the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.

Imad Alsoos, a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany, said Hamas in the past sought to create protests against the blockade, with less success. “But with this protest movement, Hamas has skillfully rechanneled popular grievances toward the Israeli occupation,” Alsoos said.

Israeli troops have responded with force, opening fire on protesters who cross the buffer zone about 100 feet from the border fence. Giora Eiland, a former head of the Israeli National Security Council, told The New York Times that Israel is trying to prevent any infiltration. “We don’t want to be in a position where we have to handle hundreds or thousands of people inside Israel,” he said. “So the right way is to make sure nothing happens to the fence.”

The escalating violence has drawn international condemnation. Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor with the International Criminal Court, in a statement warned all who incite or contribute to the violence could face prosecution. Amnesty International earlier called for independent investigations into the Israeli military’s use of force against unarmed protesters.

Hamas vowed to continue the protests, and Israel remains unwilling to back down.

“We have one clear and simple rule, and we seek to express it constantly: If someone tries to attack you—rise up and attack him,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We will not allow, here on Gaza border, them to hurt us. We will hurt them.”

Algerian Christian free after 18 months in prison

Christians and human rights advocates rejoiced last week when Algerian authorities released political activist Slimane Bouhafs after 18 months in prison.

Officials arrested Bouhafs in 2016 over Facebook posts about Jesus overcoming the “lie” of Islam, and a court convicted the former Muslim of insulting Islam, according to World Watch Monitor.

Bouhafs’ family and human rights advocates protested the conviction. Said Salhi of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights called Bouhafs’ arrest “a new attack against the rights guaranteed by national laws.” Human Rights Watch criticized the prosecution of peaceful religious and political speech, and Amnesty International petitioned for his release.

Officials twice reduced Bouhafs’ five-year prison sentence and freed him on April 1.

“Finally my father … has been allowed back to us,” Bouhafs’ daughter Tilelli wrote on Facebook on Easter Sunday. Bouhafs’ family was traveling to visit him in prison when they learned of his freedom.

“I am filled with joy to be reunited with my family, who have suffered tremendously,” Bouhafs told Algeria’s El Watan. He called his imprisonment a “terrible injustice,” adding, “I did not hurt anyone, I did not kill anyone.” He also thanked people around the world for sending encouraging letters.

The U.S. State Department lists Islam as Algeria’s state religion, and various laws, policies, and practices at times overrule constitutional protections for religious freedom, especially for non-Muslims. —Julia A. Seymour

China blocks online Bible sales

Christians in China last week started to notice that the government had pulled Bibles from some online retail stores. The South China Morning Post reported that searches for Bibles on several online stores, including Jingdong, Taobao, Amazon.cn, and Dang Dang, displayed no results or prompted a redirect to other Christian publications.

Days before the Bibles became unavailable, China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs released a document that focused on promoting Chinese Christianity over the next five years. The document said the government will develop Chinese Christianity in a bid “to consciously develop Bible study talents to lay a solid foundation for reinterpreting and retranslating the Bible or writing the reference books.”

As Chinese President Xi Jinping tightens his grip on power, the government has increased its control over Christianity. In January, officials demolished the well-known Golden Lampstand Church amid a crackdown on unregistered churches. The Chinese government claims about 38 million Protestants and 6 million Catholics live in China. But underground church members place the actual number of Christians at about 90 million. —O.O.

Rwanda shuts down churches

The Rwandan government shut down thousands of churches and multiple mosques operating in makeshift structures after declaring them unsafe. While some religious leaders acknowledged safety problems, others questioned the campaign’s draconian tactics.

The Rwandan newspaper Igihe reported the government closed about 6,315 churches across the country in less than two months. Anastase Shyaka, who heads the Rwanda Governance Board in charge of faith-based organizations, said the government has yet to compile the total number. “The prayer houses were found in such poor physical conditions, and we are not targeting any religion,” Shyaka said. But critics see the campaign as part of a wider effort to crack down on freedom of expression in the country. President Paul Kagame claimed Rwanda didn’t need so many churches. Six pastors who protested the church closures found themselves arrested and charged with holding “illegal meetings with bad intentions.”

Mufti Sheikh Salim Hitimana, leader of the Muslim community, confirmed the government also closed about 100 mosques. “We are now trying to fix what the government told us to do,” he said.

Part of the new safety standards require the installation of lightning rods in religious buildings. In March, 16 Christians died and 140 others sustained injuries when lighting struck a Seventh-day Adventist church in the country. —O.O.

Nigerian president to seek reelection

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will seek another term in office during the February 2019 elections. Buhari spokesman Garba Shehu said the president announced his intention in a closed-door meeting of the ruling party’s National Executive Committee. Buhari began his first four-year term in 2015. He faced repeated calls to step down after an undisclosed illness kept him in Britain for about five months while he sought treatment. His absence came as the country continued to battle Boko Haram’s insurgency, herdsmen clashes, and a secessionist movement in the east. —O.O.