An Evangelical pastor who was jailed for 40 days for meeting with an Israeli leader has been released by Palestinian authorities.
Evangelical pastor Johnny Shahwan from Bethlehem spent about 40 days in prison after he was arrested for allegedly welcoming a a former member of Israel's parliament and rabbi into his ministry. A Palestinian judge has ordered his release.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Shahwan was accused of promoting normalization with the "Zionist entity" and welcoming an "extremist Zionist settler." The Palestinian pastor was released by authorities on Monday. He was first arrested on March 2, during which his ministry, Beit Al-Liqa, or House of Encounter, was also shut down for meeting with Yehudah Glick, an Israeli politician from the Likud Party and rabbi.
The Beit Al-Liqa ministry is based in the town of Beit Jala just outside Bethlehem and released a statement explaining the situation following the Palestinian pastor's arrest, the Christian Post reported. The ministry explained that it "hosted a group of German tourists" and at the end of the meeting with Pastor Shahwan, "an unidentified person," referring to Glick, "suddenly walked in and asked to take a 'selfie' with Shahwan and the tourists."
"We were not aware of the presence of this extremist Zionist person, and he was not part of the group's itinerary," the statement read. Just one day after Pastor Shahwan's arrest, unidentified gunmen fired several shots at the building of the ministry. No one was hurt during the attack.
The Beit Al-Liqa ministry affirmed in a statement its "commitment as a Palestinian national Christian institution to all Palestinians and opposition to normalization [with Israel]" and labeled the Jews living in the West Bank as "criminals."
The Palestinian pastor's release from prison comes a week after Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas was informed of Shahwan's situation. All Arab News reported that the president himself asked his attorney general and security services to review Shahwan's case and indicated that he wanted to see the pastor released from prison.
But some raised concerns for the Palestinian pastor's safety outside of prison, as there had been a "widespread campaign of incitement against Shahwan on social media." Some have suggested for him to remain in prison than to be released into Bethlehem, where he may be "attacked by the extremists who consider him a traitor for meeting with an Israeli Jew."
According to CBN News, Shahwan wa charged with "undermining the national sentiments [of Palestinians]" and "stirring up sectarian strife and insulting the prestige of the [Palestinian] state." If he had been convicted, he would have faced prison time and hard labor. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group called Glick's visit a "national crime" for which Shahwan must be punished.
However, the review ordered by President Abbas was completed and on Monday, the Palestinian judge ordered for Shahwan's release.
Glick reported that Shahwan's family is now "very frirghtened" for their lives as the Palestinian pastor still faces danger from extremists. Earlier this year, President Abbas called upon Christians to oppose Israel in a meeting with Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, claiming that Israel "don't want anyone here other than themselves."
