As a Christian living in Jerusalem and working to build good interfaith relations, for the first time in 23 years, I am worried. I can see clearly that the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is threatening all the good work that has been accomplished over the past decades to bring faith communities together.

There are many reasons that this current conflict has erupted, from political to economic. Yet, the most disturbing manifestation now is that the conflict is becoming a religious confrontation that is bringing Judaism, Christianity and Islam into direct conflict. Sadly, recent events show that Islam is making moves in Israel and the territories that are challenging Judaism and Christianity.

One such move affects my neighborhood of Gilo, on the southern edge of Jerusalem, which is predominately Jewish, and adjacent to the Palestinian Authority town of Beit Jalla, which is predominately Christian. Since 1967, these two communities have lived side-by-side in harmony. Now, there is almost daily machine gun fire upon Gilo from Beit Jalla, which is the work of Yasser Arafat's Tanzim (Fatah) militia who take over a home or factory and fire into the residences of Gilo, trying to get Israel to fire back. The weapons being used by the Palestinians are large caliber machine guns with armor piercing bullets that are going through several walls of the apartments in Gilo that are being fired upon, and necessitate a response. Additionally, the Tanzim have chosen positions near to churches in Beit Jalla, most notably the Church of St. Nicholas, hoping that Israel's return fire will hit a church. Then it will be front-page news for the "Christian West," that Israel is now destroying churches. We saw this tactic used by the PLO in Lebanon in 1982, when they would place an anti-aircraft gun on the roof of a hospital, or position a tank next to an residential block. Then, when Israel struck the gun or tank with return fire, it would damage the hospital or apartment building and the PLO would claim that Israel was "attacking hospitals and defenseless civilians." For this reason, the Israel Defense Force is being very careful about their targets in Beit Jalla. Meanwhile, innocent residents of Beit Jalla and Gilo are subjected to almost daily violence because of some outsiders who are coming in to victimize both communities and drive a wedge between Christians and Jews - not only locally, but also internationally. Biblical sites sacred to Jews and Christians are also being taken over by Islam.

In Jericho, the ancient Jewish synagogue was burned and crowds prevented fire trucks from putting out the blaze. In the heart of Nablus (Biblical Shechem) Palestinians took control of Joseph's Tomb after days of fierce fighting. Under the Oslo Accords, this site was considered an important Jewish holy site where Jewish young men were allowed to pray and study Torah. After the take-over, the Moslems immediately converted it into a mosque, complete with a freshly painted green dome. This "take-over" was quickly followed by calls amongst the Palestinians to overrun and take Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, not far from my house, and the Cave of Machpelah, in Hebron. All of these are biblical patriarchal sites, holy to those of us who honor the Bible. Yet, because Islam teaches that Jews and Christians perverted the faith given them by God, they believe Allah gave the final revelation to Mohammed. Furthermore, for Islam, all Jewish and Christian (Biblical) characters are considered good Moslems, even though Islam did not exist before the 7th century. Because Islam considers itself superior to both Judaism and Christianity, they have no theological problem in usurping Jewish and Christian sites and changing them into Islamic sites, or simply building a mosque next door. Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus (Shechem), and Jericho which were Jewish towns in the days of the Bible, have been given over to the Palestinian Authority, and now the last vestiges of Jewish life and presence are quickly being eradicated. However, of most concern is the Islamic usurpation of the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon's and Herod's Temple, which is a central holy site for both Jews and Christians. At present, there are three mosques on this site; the third one recently built in the underground "Solomon's Stables," where many artifacts of biblical significance were destroyed in the construction process. Even though Israel gave the Moslem authorities control of the Temple Mount in 1967 and have respected the site, the Moslems refuse to acknowledge the importance of the site to Jews.

Here is what the official Palestinian Authority website says about the Western Wall, sacred to the Jewish people as one of the remaining fragments of Herod's great Temple complex. You can see that Islam totally redefines the entire area and eradicates its history.

"Al-Boraq Wall: It is part of the exterior facade of the western wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque. "Al-Boraq" creature which carried Mohammad during his ascension to heaven was tied to this wall. Some Orthodox religious Jews consider it as a holy place for them, and claim that the wall is part of their temple, which all historic studies and archaeological excavations have failed to find any proof for such a claim. In order to undermine the foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Israeli government has convert it into a religious shrine for Jews, prohibiting non-Jews to enter it, except for a limited number of tourists."

This description not only flies in the face of history and archaeology, but has the more sinister motive of eradicating the biblical history of the area, which undermines the validity of Judaism and Christianity. Furthermore, the Palestinian Authority is calling their uprising the "Intifada of Al-Aqsa" and are calling the Moslem world to declare a jihad (holy war) against Israel and come to help defend the mosque. Frankly, it has never been threatened.

In a day when everyone is calling for religious freedom, freedom of access to holy sites, and freedom of worship, the historical record shows that Israel has been the only one who has respected and encouraged this practice, while the Palestinian Authority and its majority Moslem community have proven just the opposite. The PA cannot protect the sites nor guarantee free access. These most recent incidents require us as Christians and Jews to speak out to the proper international authorities to protect our biblical sites and places of worship before they are lost forever.