Palestinian Christians have requested prayer for the family of Rami Ayyad, the Christian bookshop manager murdered in 2007, as his killer’s identity has now been publicly confirmed.
Rami was operating a Christian bookstore in Gaza and had received death threats. On 6th October 2007 he was abducted after closing the bookstore. His body was recovered the next day, showing signs of torture and gunshot wounds to the chest and head. Rami left his wife Pauline (pregnant with their daughter) and their two young sons.
At the time of the murder the identity of the killer was not revealed, possibly because of a cover-up due to his close links with Hamas, the governing administration in Gaza.
Pauline struggled greatly to come to a point where she could forgive the killer and move forward with her life. Her journey of hope is related in a short video, “The roar and the butterfly”, recently produced by the Palestinian Bible Society (the video can be seen at: pbs-web.com/blog/2017/03/13/the-roar-and-the-butterfly).
Rami’s murderer has been confirmed as Ashraf Abu Laila, a member of Hamas’ military wing also responsible for killing Fatah members in a coup in 2006. He was recently accused of assassinating a senior Hamas official, leading to claims that he had been recruited by the Israeli intelligence service. On 21st May a military tribunal in Gaza convicted Abu Laila and two accomplices of the recent political assassination, sentencing them to death. It has not yet been confirmed whether the sentences have been carried out.
MAY BE CIRCULATED TO GENERAL MAILING LISTS, OUTSIDE ORGANISAITONS, AND QUOTED FROM FREELY IN REPORTS CITING “MIDDLE EAST CONCERN” AS THE SOURCE OF THE INFORMATION.
Prayer points
Please pray:
a. for Pauline Ayyad, her three children and members of the Palestinian Bible Society, as they deal with the trauma of having the identity of Rami’s killer confirmed
b. that Ashraf Abu Laila, if he has not already been executed, will have an opportunity to repent and find eternal life in Christ
