'Israel' destroying Christian presence in Palestine
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Palestine's Church Affairs Committee holds "Israel" responsible for emptying the Holy Land of its Christian population.
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Palestinian officials arrive to inspect the grotto beneath the Church of the Nativity, revered as the site of Jesus' birth, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, May 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine declared on Sunday that "Israel" has destroyed the Christian presence in Palestine and continues to bomb churches in Gaza.
The committee issued a statement accompanied by a photo showing an Israeli tank outside the Church of the Nativity in Beit Lahm during the 2002 invasion of the West Bank. The statement came in response to a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he claimed that "Israel" is the only state in the "Middle East" that protects Christians.
According to the committee, "Israel's" colonial policies of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide have devastated Christian life in Palestine.
It highlighted that prior to the 1948 Nakba, Palestinian Christians made up about 12.5% of the population of historic Palestine. Today, they account for no more than 1.2%, and just 1% in the territories occupied since 1967.
The committee explained that 90,000 Palestinian Christians were displaced during the Nakba, while around 30 churches were forced to close. Zionist militias also carried out massacres against Christian civilians, including the killing of 25 people at the Semiramis Hotel in al-Quds and the execution of 12 others in the village of Eilabun near al-Nasira in 1948.
It also recalled the Christian villages of Iqrit and Kafr Bir’im in Upper al-Jalil, where residents were barred from returning despite court rulings in their favor. In 1953, occupation forces demolished the villages' homes to prevent any attempt at return, leaving only the churches and cemeteries as silent witnesses to the forced displacement.
Churches targeted in Gaza
Addressing the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, the committee said churches and Christian institutions have been directly targeted, including the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Holy Family Church, al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, and the Orthodox Cultural and Social Center.
Nothing is safe in Gaza.
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) July 17, 2025
Today, Israel bombed a Catholic church — the third church targeted since the war began.
Even houses of worship are not spared: both mosques and churches have come under Israeli fire.
In this war, no sanctuary is respected, and no place is truly safe. pic.twitter.com/Db67kMssn9
The statement confirmed that 44 Christians have been killed since the beginning of the war, some as a result of direct strikes, others due to the dire humanitarian conditions.
It also noted that the Christian village of al-Taybeh in the West Bank has endured repeated settler attacks. Additionally, the Orthodox Patriarchate in al-Quds has had its bank accounts frozen, churches have been subjected to exorbitant taxes, and Armenian Church properties have been confiscated, in violation of the long-standing status quo.
Daily harassment and the siege of Bethlehem, the city of Christ
The committee stressed that Palestinian Christians face daily harassment, including spitting by settlers, physical assaults, and the desecration of churches and cemeteries. Their freedom of movement is also severely restricted by checkpoints and the apartheid wall, often preventing them from practicing their religious rituals, including Easter celebrations.
It added that Beit Lahm, the birthplace of Christ, is now surrounded by more than 150 checkpoints, settlements, and the separation wall, with its area shrinking from 37 square kilometers to just 7.3 square kilometers.
The committee also warned that the Israeli settlement plan known as "E1" will further isolate al-Quds from its Palestinian surroundings and tighten the stranglehold on Beit Lahm. It concluded by stressing that "Israel" is responsible for erasing the Christian presence in the Holy Land, affirming that "Netanyahu’s lies will not erase history nor the lived reality of Palestinians under occupation."
The committee called on the international community to hold the occupation accountable under international law, urged global churches to speak out in defense of their fellow Christians in the land of Christ, and appealed to the United Nations to safeguard freedom of worship and the Christian presence in Palestine.
