West Bank believers persevering through the strain of war

Palestine (MNN) — As the Israel-Hamas war nears the eight-month mark. Palestinians in the West Bank are feeling the strain.

Reverend Dr. Jack Sara, the president of Bethlehem Bible College, says the West Bank may not be experiencing intense warfare, but there are conflicts here and there along with difficulties.

“Every day, we wake up in prayer that this [war] will be stopping. But honestly, people are tired. They’re losing hope and it feels like it’s going to impact us long-term at different levels. It’s going to be years and years of repercussion even to survive [the] horrendous things that are happening in Gaza,” says Dr. Sara.

“The economy is collapsing, and people are really struggling. So it’s very hard all over the place.”

After the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israel barred some 100,000 Palestinian workers from crossing into Israel for work, for security reasons. More recently, Israel has also threatened to cut off Palestinian banks from their Israeli correspondent banks. This would be to prevent terrorists from accessing funds. But it would also be another blow to the West Bank’s economy, which has already felt the loss of tourism, among other things.

“We at Bethlehem Bible College suffer because of this. We depend a lot on visitors, tourisms, courses we offer,” says Dr. Sara.

But believers in the West Bank know they are not alone. Bethlehem Bible College held an international conference May 22–25 that saw hundreds of believers gather to discuss biblical justice and peace.  (Learn more about Bethlehem Bible College here.)

“Sometimes the person feels that no one’s concerned. No one’s listening, no one’s seeing. But the things is not the story. There are people, churches, ministries and leaders who are very concerned and they’re doing their utmost so that they will be helping in such a context like this,” says Dr. Sara. “This is encouraging, of course, [to] keep hearing from friends, whether by email or messages, that people, churches are praying on behalf of the Palestinians.”

Dr. Sara says he has seen intifadas and conflicts that last a number of months in Palestine, but nothing like the Israel-Hamas war. Please pray with him that God will do a miracle and bring an end to the war in Gaza.

“At the same time [pray] that the people here in the West Bank will have relief and will be able to survive such a context that is so hard. Pray against injustice, pray for peace,” says Dr. Sara.

“Pray for the Christian community that has been affected badly recently. It’s dwindling. People are leaving the country because it’s such a charged, dangerous atmosphere.”

Header photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.