Christians Are Disappearing From the Holy Land

BRUSSELS — Palestinian Christian leaders delivered an urgent warning to European lawmakers this week: Christianity in the Holy Land is facing what they described as an existential threat amid escalating violence, restrictions on worship, and the continuing devastation of Gaza.

In a high-level meeting at the European Parliament on May 7, a delegation from the Palestinian Presidential Committee for Church Affairs accused Israel of allowing a climate of impunity that has fueled attacks on churches, clergy, and Christian communities across occupied Palestinian territories.

The delegation — including Amira Hanania, theologian Mitri Raheb, Rev. Fadi Diab, and Palestinian Ambassador Amal Jadou Shakaa — met with David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, and European lawmaker Regina Doherty.

According to the delegation, incidents targeting Palestinian Christians are no longer isolated acts of extremism but part of a broader pattern that threatens one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

They cited settler violence, anti-Christian hate speech, land seizures, discriminatory taxation, and increasing restrictions on access to holy sites, including Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Communities in Taybeh, Birzeit, Beit Sahour, and Al-Makhrour were singled out as areas under mounting pressure.

In Gaza, where war has raged since 2023, churches and Christian institutions have suffered severe destruction. The delegation pointed to damage inflicted on religious compounds and educational institutions, including the Dar al-Kalima University campus.

The concerns echo findings from the World Council of Churches, which has documented worsening violence, economic hardship, and restrictions on worship affecting Christians and other non-Jewish communities in the Holy Land. Churches, schools, and hospitals linked to Christian organizations have also been caught in the crossfire of the Gaza conflict.

Recent incidents have intensified global outrage. In Jerusalem, Israeli authorities charged a Jewish man accused of attacking Catholic nuns because of their religious identity. In southern Lebanon, images showing an Israeli soldier desecrating a statue of the Virgin Mary sparked widespread condemnation and prompted an Israeli military investigation.

Palestinian Christian leaders urged the European Union to move beyond statements of concern and adopt concrete political measures, including civilian protections, accountability mechanisms, and diplomatic pressure aimed at ending what they described as systemic impunity.

For many Palestinian Christians, the issue extends far beyond religion. It has become a battle over identity, heritage, and survival in the land where Christianity was born.

Without stronger international intervention, the delegation warned, the Christian presence in the Holy Land could continue shrinking until it survives only as history.

(Sources: WAFA, Anadolu Agency/AA, Palestinian Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, World Council of Churches/WCC, Associated Press/AP, Al Jazeera)