Catholic World News News Feature

Israel Arrests Suspected Christian Palestinian Terrorist February 07, 2003

BETHLEHEM, Feb 7, 03 (CWNews.com) - Israel on Thursday arrested the only known Palestinian Christian member of the terrorist al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Muslim offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement that has provided support for suicide bombers.

Chris Benedict, 24, was arrested in Bethlehem where he was a gunman for the Brigades, according to Palestinian security forces. They said Benedict was the only known Christian member of the al-Aqsa Brigades. Most of the 3.6 million Palestinians in the Holy Land are Muslim, while only about 60,000 Palestinian Christians remain in the region.

An Israeli army spokesman described Benedict as a "senior terrorist" suspected of involvement in ambushes of Israeli vehicles and helping plan two suicide bombings in which 13 Israelis were killed.