Editing Palestinian Christians (section)

==Political and ecumenical issues==
The mayors of Ramallah, Birzeit, Bethlehem, Zababdeh, Jifna, Ein 'Arik, Aboud, Taybeh, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour are Christians. The Governor of [[Tubas (city)|Tubas]], Marwan Tubassi, is a Christian. The former Palestinian representative to the United States, [[Afif Saffieh]], is a Christian, as is the ambassador of the Palestinian Authority in France, Hind Khoury. The Palestinian women's football team has a majority of Muslim girls, but the captain, Honey Thaljieh, is a Christian from Bethlehem. Many of the Palestinian officials such as ministers, advisers, ambassadors, consulates, heads of missions, PLC, PNA, PLO, Fateh leaders and others are Christians. Some Christians were part of the affluent segments of Palestinian society that left the country during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. In [[West Jerusalem]], over 50% of Christian Palestinians lost their homes to the Israelis, according to the historian [[Sami Hadawi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-bushra.org/latpatra/wagner.htm |title=Palestinian Christians: An Historic Community at Risk? |last1=Wagner |first1=Don |publisher=Al-Bushra |date=12 March 2002 |access-date=11 January 2014 |archive-date=11 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111171538/http://www.al-bushra.org/latpatra/wagner.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Involvement in Palestinian militancy ===
[[File:Palestinian rebels 1938.jpg|thumb|290x290px|Palestinian rebels during the 1936-1939 revolt carrying a flag with a cross and crescent]]
Palestinian Christians have played a role in the anti-Zionist movement and [[Palestinian political violence|related political violence]], both before and after the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Four out of the 282 Palestinian Arab rebel leaders that participated in the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|1936-1939 revolt in British Palestine]] were Christians. The rebels bore flags with a [[Christian cross|cross]] and [[Muslim crescent|crescent]], symbolizing Christianity and Islam, respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Hillel |title=Army of shadows: Palestinian collaboration with Zionism, 1917 - 1948 |date=2008 |publisher=Univ. of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25989-8 |location=Berkeley, Calif.}}</ref>

The [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)]] was founded in 1967 by [[George Habash]], a Christian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine Who's Who (C-M) |url=http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/palestine/biogCM.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421115025/https://al-bab.com/arab/countries/palestine/biogCM.htm |archivedate=21 April 2007 |website=Arab Gateway}}</ref><ref name="Reich1990">{{cite book |last=Reich |first=Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D5FulN2WqQC&pg=PA528 |title=Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-313-26213-5 |pages=528}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=MacLeod/Cairo |first=Scott |date=2008-01-28 |title=Terrorism's Christian Godfather |url=https://time.com/archive/6942417/terrorisms-christian-godfather/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |magazine=TIME |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709033601/https://time.com/archive/6942417/terrorisms-christian-godfather/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Habash once stated that he believed there was perfect harmony between his Christian religion, his Arab nationalism, his Islamic culture, and his Marxist politics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Habash |url=https://www.palquest.org/en/biography/6564/george-habash |website=Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706193347/https://www.palquest.org/en/biography/6564/george-habash |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Wadie Haddad]], the leader of the military wing of the PFLP, was also Christian.<ref name="thrieg">{{cite book |author=Thomas Riegler |title=Handbook of OPEC and the Global Energy Order. Past, Present and Future Challenges |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2020 |isbn=9780429203190 |editor1=Dag Harald Claes |location=London |page=291 |chapter=When modern terrorism began The OPEC hostage taking of 1975 |doi=10.4324/9780429203190 |editor2=Giuliano Garavini |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429203190 |s2cid=211416208|url=https://openresearchlibrary.org/ext/api/media/62aeed95-b191-4ed0-83d6-b0372b5c31fa/assets/external_content.pdf }}</ref><ref name="marke">{{cite book |author=Mark Ensalaco |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhmb0 |title=Middle Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8122-4046-7 |location=Philadelphia, PA |page=16 |jstor=j.ctt3fhmb0 |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-date=18 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218180308/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhmb0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Reportedly, Eastern Orthodox priests would bless PFLP [[Hijacking of aircraft|hijacking]] teams before they set out on attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Philip |title=Did You Know that the Radicals of the Middle East Used to Be Christians? |url=https://www.hnn.us/article/did-you-know-that-the-radicals-of-the-middle-east- |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=History News Network |date=20 August 2003 |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709033601/https://www.hnn.us/article/did-you-know-that-the-radicals-of-the-middle-east- |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Sirhan Sirhan]], who assassinated [[Robert F. Kennedy]] in 1968, came from a Christian family<ref name="Convicted">{{cite news |date=November 26, 2011 |title=Convicted RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan seeks prison release |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/26/justice/california-sirhan-rfk/?hpt=hp_t3 |publisher=CNN |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312132845/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/26/justice/california-sirhan-rfk/?hpt=hp_t3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cnnMartinez20110301">{{cite news |last=Martinez |first=Michael |date=March 1, 2011 |title=Sirhan Sirhan, convicted RFK assassin, to face parole board |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/03/01/california.sirhan.parole.hearing/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206105806/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-01/justice/california.sirhan.parole.hearing_1_sirhan-sirhan-parole-board-parole-hearing?_s=PM:CRIME |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |access-date=November 4, 2011 |work=CNN}}</ref> and later changed church denominations several times, joining [[Baptists|Baptist]] and [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] churches.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 6, 2019 |title=Sirhan Sirhan: Biography |url=http://www.biography.com/people/sirhan-sirhan |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225154009/https://www.biography.com/people/sirhan-sirhan |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in 1966, he joined the [[esoteric]] organization [[Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis|Ancient Mystical Order of the Rose Cross]], one of the [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucian Orders]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Mel Ayton |title=The Robert Kennedy Assassination: Unraveling the Conspiracy Theories |url=http://www.crimemagazine.com/05/robertkennedy,0508-5.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103081231/http://www.crimemagazine.com/robert-kennedy-assassination-unraveling-conspiracy-theories |archive-date=January 3, 2010 |magazine=Crime Magazine}}</ref>

[[Luttif Afif]], the commander of the [[Black September Organization]] (BSO) unit that carried out the 1972 [[Munich massacre]], was reported to have at least a partial Christian background.<ref>{{Cite book |author=David Clay Large |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5l5IChZhkQC&q=Luttif+Afif+Christian&pg=PA196 |title=Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the Olympic Games |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2012 |isbn=9780742567399}}<!-- ISSN/ISBN, page(s) needed --></ref><ref name="Spielberg">{{Cite web |title=Indiana Spielberg and His Jewish Problem<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://spectator.org/articles/47620/indiana-spielberg-and-his-jewish-problem |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110631/http://spectator.org/articles/47620/indiana-spielberg-and-his-jewish-problem |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=27 August 2015}}</ref><ref name="haaretz1">{{cite web |author=Fogelman, Shay |date=31 August 2012 |title=תחקיר נרחב חושף פרטים חדשים על טבח מינכן |trans-title=Wide-ranging investigation reveals new details about the Munich Massacre |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/1.1812103 |accessdate=17 May 2021 |work=[[Haaretz]] |language=he}}</ref> He used the alias "Jesus",<ref name="DavidClayLarge196">{{Cite book |last=Large |first=David Clay |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5l5IChZhkQC&dq=Luttif+Afif&pg=PA196 |title=Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the Olympic Games |date=2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-6739-9 |language=en |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709033601/https://books.google.com/books?id=H5l5IChZhkQC&dq=Luttif+Afif&pg=PA196 |archive-date=9 July 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> and named the Munich operation "[[Iqrit]] and [[Kafr Bir'im|Biram]]",<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_uzeDwAAQBAJ |title=Germany and Israel: Whitewashing and Statebuilding |date=30 March 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-754000-8 |page=146}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Black |first1=Ian |title=Israel's secret wars: a history of Israel's intelligence services |last2=Morris |first2=Benny |date=1991 |publisher=Grove Weidenfeld |isbn=978-0-8021-1159-3 |edition= |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sylas |first1=Eluma Ikemefuna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4LAXixXUu5wC&pg=RA1-PA224 |title=Terrorism: A Global Scourge |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4259-0530-9 |access-date=7 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801091237/https://books.google.com/books?id=4LAXixXUu5wC&pg=RA1-PA224 |archive-date=1 August 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> after two Christian villages whose inhabitants were expelled by the IDF during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]].<ref>Benveniśtî, Mêrôn (2000). ''Sacred landscape: the buried history of the Holy Land since 1948''. University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-23422-2}}. pp. 325–326.</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/justice-for-ikrit-and-biram-1.71628 "Justice for Ikrit and Biram"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012101848/https://www.haaretz.com/justice-for-ikrit-and-biram-1.71628|date=12 October 2017}}, ''Haaretz'', 10 October 2001.</ref><ref>Elias Chacour with David Hazard: ''Blood Brothers: A Palestinian Struggles for Reconciliation in the Middle East''. {{ISBN|978-0-8007-9321-0}}. Foreword by Secretary James A. Baker III. 2nd Expanded ed. 2003. pp. 44–61.</ref> Theresa Halaseh, another member of the BSO, was a Christian<ref>{{Cite web |title=اختطفت طائرة على متنها 140 إسرائيلياً.. من هي تيريزا هلسة التي كادت أن تردي نتنياهو قتيلاً؟ |url=https://arabicpost.live/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9/%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/2020/03/29/%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A9/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=عربي بوست — ArabicPost.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=البرغوثي |first=نسرين نعيم |title=خطفت طائرة في عمر الـ 18.. من هي تيريزا هلسة؟ |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/blogs/2020/3/31/%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A9 |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=الجزيرة نت |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=محمود ■القاهرة |first=خالد |date=2020-04-02 |title=تيريزا هلسا.. فلسطينية أطلقت النار على نتنياهو |url=https://www.emaratalyoum.com/politics/reports-and-translation/2020-04-03-1.1329028 |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.emaratalyoum.com |language=ar}}</ref> and also a [[Fatah]] member.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestinians Mourn Theresa Halsa, Hijacker of 1972 Flight to Tel Aviv |url=https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2205516/palestinians-mourn-theresa-halsa-hijacker-1972-flight-tel-aviv |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=english.aawsat.com |language=en}}</ref> She participated in the BSO [[Sabena Flight 571|hijacking of Sabena Flight 571]], and was captured but later released in a 1983 prisoner exchange.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-28 |title=وفاة المناضلة تيريزا هلسة إحدى منفذات "عملية اللد" |url=https://felesteen.news/post/62688/%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%84%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7-%D9%87%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%89-%D9%85%D9%86%D9%81%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AF |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=فلسطين أون لاين |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Therese Halasa |url=https://www.facesofpalestine.org/profiles/therese-halasa |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Faces Of Palestine |language=en}}</ref>

There have been at least two known Christian militants from the [[Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades]], [[Chris Bandak]] and Daniel Saba George, both from Bethlehem. Bandak was imprisoned by Israel for shooting at Israeli motorists during the [[Second Intifada]],<ref name="Arutz">{{cite news |last=Miskin |first=Maayana |date=5 July 2009 |title=PA Minister: Muslims, Christians Fighting Jews Together |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132202 |accessdate=18 June 2015 |work=[[Arutz Sheva]] |location=Israel |archive-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125010702/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132202 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=4 July 2009 |title=PA minister visits family of imprisoned Palestinian Christian |url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=211687 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904033453/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=211687 |archive-date=4 September 2014 |accessdate=18 June 2015 |work=[[Ma'an News Agency]] |location=Palestinian Territories}}</ref> and at that time was described as the only Christian in the entire Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-02-07 |title=Israel warns of Iraq war 'earthquake' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2736283.stm |access-date=2024-09-04 |work=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel Arrests Suspected Christian Palestinian Terrorist |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=19880 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=www.catholicculture.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=First Christian in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades |url=https://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=413 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=www.comeandsee.com |language=en}}</ref> However, during a meeting with Bandak's family in 2009, Palestinian Authority official [[Issa Qaraqe]] hinted that there were other imprisoned Christian militants as well.<ref name="Arutz" /> Bandak was later released in 2011 as part of an exchange for the release of Israeli soldier [[Gilad Shalit]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ajbaili |first=Mustapha |date=18 October 2011 |title=Palestinian female prisoners resist deportation to Gaza |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011%2F10%2F18%2F172380 |website=Al Arabiya News}}</ref> Daniel Saba George ("Abu Hamama"), who was also a senior [[Tanzim]] operative, was killed by Israel in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 April 2006 |title=Senior Tanzim operative killed during arrest activity in Bethlehem |url=https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/FOREIGNPOLICY/Terrorism/Palestinian/Pages/Senior%20Tanzim%20operative%20killed%20during%20arrest%20activity%20in%20Bethlehem%2023-Apr-2006.aspx |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=embassies.gov.il}}</ref> An image was later taken of George's Christian funeral in Bethlehem,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-21 |title=Palestinian priests and mourners pray over the body of Daniel Abu Hamama... |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/palestinian-priests-and-mourners-pray-over-the-body-of-news-photo/1679523074 |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Getty Images |language=en-gb |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709033601/https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/palestinian-priests-and-mourners-pray-over-the-body-of-news-photo/1679523074 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a poster of him with Christian imagery was seen put up in the city that same year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-01 |title=Fatah Martyr Daniel Saba George |url=https://www.d7.palestineposterproject.org/poster/fatah-martyr-daniel-saba-george |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=The Palestine Poster Project Archives |language=en}}</ref>

===Arab Orthodox Movement===
{{Main|Arab Orthodox Movement}}
[[File:Second Orthodox Conference in Jaffa, 1931.png|thumb|right|The Second Arab Orthodox Conference held in [[Jaffa]], [[Mandatory Palestine]], on 28 October 1931, with delegates from various Palestinian and Transjordanian cities.]]

The Arab Orthodox Movement is a political and [[social movement]] aiming for the [[Arabization]] of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem]], the church overseeing [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] communities in Palestine, Israel and Jordan; to which the majority of the Christian population there belongs to.<ref name="jstor1">{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879643 |title=The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Its Congregation: Dissent over Real Estate |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |accessdate=10 January 2023 |date=4 November 2005 |jstor=3879643 |last1=Katz |first1=Itamar |last2=Kark |first2=Ruth |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=509–534 |doi=10.1017/S0020743805052189 |s2cid=159569868 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326040226/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3879643 |url-status=live |issn = 0020-7438 }}</ref>

Within the context of rising [[Arab nationalism]] in the 19th century, the movement was inspired by the successful precedent of the Arabization of Syria and Lebanon's [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch|Antioch Patriarchate]] in [[Meletius II of Antioch|1899]]. The movement seeks the appointment of an Arab patriarch, Arab laity control over Jerusalem patriarchate's properties for social and educational purposes, and the use of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] as a [[liturgical language]].{{sfn|Robson|2011|p=77}} Initially a church movement among [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]]'s Orthodox [[Arab Christians]] in the late 19th century, it was later supported as a Palestinian and Arab nationalist cause and championed by some Arab Muslims, owing to the Greek-dominated patriarchate's early support to [[Zionism]].{{sfn|Robson|2011|p=77}}

The Orthodox laity, which is mostly Arab, maintains that the patriarchate was forcibly Hellenized in 1543, while the Greek clergy says that the patriarchate was historically Greek.{{sfn|Robson|2011|p=77}} Opposition to the Greek clergy turned violent in the late 19th century, when they came under physical attack by the Arab laity in the streets. The movement was subsequently focused on holding Arab Orthodox conferences, the first of which was held in [[Jaffa]] in 1923, and most recently in [[Amman]] in 2014. One outcome of the 1923 conference was the laity's establishment of tens of Orthodox churches, clubs and schools in Palestine and Jordan over the decades.<ref name="ACBMP">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KW75wAEACAAJ|title=Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine: Communalism and Nationalism, 1917-1948|year=2013|page=174|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|first1=Noah|last1=Haiduc-Dale|isbn=9780748676033|accessdate=13 January 2023|doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9780748676033.001.0001|archive-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114120914/https://books.google.com/books?id=KW75wAEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> There were historically also several interventions to solve the conflict by the [[Mutassarifate of Jerusalem|Ottoman]], [[Mandatory Palestine|British]] (1920–1948), and [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian]] (1948–1967) authorities, owing to the patriarchate's headquarters being located in [[East Jerusalem]].<ref name="SPR">{{cite book|url=|title=European Cultural Diplomacy and Arab Christians in Palestine, 1918–1948: Between Contention and Connection|chapter=Orthodox Clubs and Associations: Cultural, Educational and Religious Networks Between Palestine and Transjordan, 1925–1950|editor-first1=Karène|editor-last1= Sanchez Summerer|editor-first2= Sary|editor-last2= Zananiri|year=2021|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-55540-5_3 |last1=Neveu |first1=Norig |pages=37–62 |isbn=978-3-030-55539-9 |s2cid=229454185|doi-access=free|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan Cham }}</ref>

===Christian converts from Islam===
<!-- does the "green prince" count? I don't think he identites as Palestinian? -->

Though numbering only a few hundred, there is a community of Christians who have converted from Islam. They are not centered in one particular city and mostly belong to various evangelical and charismatic communities. Due to the fact that official conversion from Islam to Christianity is illegal in accordance with Islamic [[sharia law]] in Palestine, these individuals tend to keep a low profile.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Duane Alexander|title=Freedom of Religion in Israel-Palestine: may Muslims become Christians, and do Christians have the freedom to welcome such converts?|journal=St Francis Magazine|date=April 2014|volume=10|issue=1|pages=17–24|url=https://www.academia.edu/6928461|access-date=16 December 2014|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123232859/https://www.academia.edu/6928461|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center: Sabeel===
The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center is a Christian non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem; was founded in 1990 as an outgrowth of a conference regarding "Palestinian Liberation Theology."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sabeel.org/ourstory.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920063122/http://www.sabeel.org/ourstory.php|url-status=dead|title=About Sabeel|archive-date=20 September 2013|access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> According to its web site, "Sabeel is an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, this liberation theology seeks to deepen the faith of Palestinian Christians, to promote unity among them toward social action. Sabeel strives to develop a spirituality based on love, justice, peace, nonviolence, liberation and reconciliation for the different national and faith communities. The word "Sabeel" is Arabic for 'the way' and also a 'channel' or 'spring' of life-giving water."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sabeel.org/etemplate.php?id=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505213742/http://www.sabeel.org/etemplate.php?id=2|url-status=dead|title=sabeel.org|archive-date=5 May 2007|access-date=12 December 2010}}</ref>

Sabeel has been criticized for its belief that "Israel is solely culpable for the origin and continuation of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,"<ref name="jewishpress.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/report-european-canadian-and-u-s-governments-fund-anti-israel-church-activism/2012/07/03/0/|title=Report: Western Governments Fund Anti-Israel Church Activism|author=Jacob Edelist|work=The Jewish Press|date=3 July 2012|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=25 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225165011/http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/report-european-canadian-and-u-s-governments-fund-anti-israel-church-activism/2012/07/03/0/|url-status=live}}</ref> and for using "anti-Semitic deicide imagery against Israel, and of disparaging Judaism as 'tribal,' 'primitive,' and 'exclusionary,' in contrast to Christianity’s 'universalism' and 'inclusiveness.{{'"}}<ref name="jewishpress.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/13/the-debate-on-jew-washing-beyond-the-ideology.html|title=The Debate on Jew-washing – Beyond the Ideology|work=The Daily Beast|date=13 August 2012|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=2 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102235507/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/13/the-debate-on-jew-washing-beyond-the-ideology.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Daniel Fink, writing on behalf of [[NGO Monitor]], shows that Sabeel leader [[Naim Ateek]] has described Zionism as a "step backward in the development of Judaism", and Zionists as "oppressors and war makers".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3464067,00.html|title=Sabeel's 'Peace' façade|newspaper=Ynetnews|date=26 October 2007|publisher=Ynet|access-date=21 January 2016|last1=Fink|first1=Daniel|archive-date=2 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102230155/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3464067,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jcpa.org/article/updating-the-ancient-infrastructure-of-christian-contempt-sabeel/|title=Updating the Ancient Infrastructure of Christian Contempt|work=Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=6 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206160313/https://jcpa.org/article/updating-the-ancient-infrastructure-of-christian-contempt-sabeel/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQKOGwAACAAJ|title=Toward a Strategy for the Episcopal Church in Israel with Special Focus on ... – Na'em S. Ateek – Google Books|access-date=21 January 2016|last1=Ateek|first1=Na'em S.|year=1982|archive-date=5 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205161644/https://books.google.com/books?id=HQKOGwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

==="Kairos Palestine" document (2009)===
In December 2009, a number of prominent Palestinian Christian activists, both clergy and lay people,<ref name="Lowe2010">{{cite web |last= Lowe |first= Malcolm |title= The Palestinian Kairos Document: A Behind-the-Scenes Analysis |work= New English Review |date= April 2010 |url= http://www.newenglishreview.org/Malcolm_Lowe/The_Palestinian_%22Kairos%22_Document%3A_A_Behind-the-Scenes_Analysis/ |access-date= 9 March 2016 |archive-date= 25 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150225035801/http://www.newenglishreview.org/Malcolm_Lowe/The_Palestinian_%22Kairos%22_Document%3A_A_Behind-the-Scenes_Analysis/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> released the [[Kairos Palestine]] document, "A moment of truth." Among the authors of the document are [[Michel Sabbah]], former [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem]], Archbishop [[Theodosios (Hanna)|Attalah Hanna]], Father Jamal Khader, Rev. [[Mitri Raheb]], Rev. [[Naim Ateek]] and [[Rifat Kassis]] who is the coordinator and chief spokesperson of the group.

The document declares the Israeli occupation of Palestine a "sin against God" and against humanity. It calls on churches and Christians all over the world to consider it and adopt it and to call for the [[Boycotts of Israel|boycott of Israel]]. Section&nbsp;7 calls for "the beginning of a system of economic sanctions and boycott to be applied against Israel." It states that isolation of Israel will cause pressure on Israel to abolish all of what it labels as "[[Israel and apartheid|apartheid laws]]" that discriminate against Palestinians and non-Jews.<ref>Qumsiyeh, Mazin (25 December 2009). "16 Christian Leaders Call for an End to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine". Al-Jazeerah: Cross-Cultural Understanding. [http://www.ccun.org/Opinion%20Editorials/2009/December/15%20o/The%20Kairos%20Palestine%20Document%2016%20Christian%20Leaders%20Call%20for%20an%20End%20to%20the%20Israeli%20Occupation%20of%20Palestine.htm ccun.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407213401/http://www.ccun.org/Opinion%20Editorials/2009/December/15%20o/The%20Kairos%20Palestine%20Document%2016%20Christian%20Leaders%20Call%20for%20an%20End%20to%20the%20Israeli%20Occupation%20of%20Palestine.htm |date=7 April 2016 }}</ref>

===Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation===
The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) was founded in 1999 by an [[ecumenical]] group of American Christians to preserve the Christian presence in the Holy Land. HCEF stated goal is to attempt to continue the presence and well-being of Arab Christians in the Holy Land and to develop the bonds of solidarity between them and Christians elsewhere. HCEF offers material assistance to Palestinian Christians and to churches in the area. HCEF advocates for solidarity on the part of Western Christians with Christians in the Holy Land.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10488|title=Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation|work=Charity Navigator|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028163127/https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10488|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/holy_land_christian_ecumenical_foundation_hcef_|title=Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=19 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119150912/http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/holy_land_christian_ecumenical_foundation_hcef_|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org41532.jsp|title=Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation Volunteer Opportunities|publisher=Volunteer Match|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=22 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322020846/http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/org41532.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Christians of Gaza===
{{see also| Islamization of Gaza#Effects on Christian population | History of the Gaza Strip }}
[[File:Holy_Family_Church_in_Gaza.jpg|thumb|[[Holy Family Church, Gaza|Holy Family Church]] in Gaza, November 2022]]
In 2022, there were approximately 1,100 Christians in the Gaza Strip, down from 1,300 in 2013,<ref name="auto"/> and from 5,000 in the mid-1990s.<ref name="AM0413">{{cite web |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2013/04/gaza-christians-safety.html |title=Do Gaza's Christians Feel Safe? |newspaper=Al-Monitor |date=April 18, 2013 |author=Asmaa al-Ghoul |accessdate=November 6, 2023 |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105230129/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2013/04/gaza-christians-safety.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaza's Christian community mostly lives within the city, especially in areas neighbouring the three main churches: [[Church of Saint Porphyrius]], The [[Holy Family Church, Gaza|Holy Family Catholic]] Parish in Zeitoun Street, and the [[Gaza Baptist Church]], in addition to an Anglican chapel in the Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Arab Evangelical Hospital. Saint Porphyrius is an Orthodox Church that dates back to the 12th century. Gaza Baptist Church is the city's only Evangelical Church; it lies close to the Legislative Council (parliamentary building). While some reports claim that Christians in Gaza freely practice their religion and may observe all the religious holidays in accordance with the Christian calendars followed by their churches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=10613 |title=Christians in Gaza: An Integral Part of Society |work=Asharq al-Awsat |date=20 October 2007 |access-date=2011-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820200232/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3 |archive-date=20 August 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> other reports claim forceful conversion to Islam, public insults, kidnapping, fear of radical Islamist groups,<ref name="AM0612">{{cite web |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2012/al-monitor/gaza-christians-and-hamas-at-odd.html |title=Gaza Christians, Hamas at Odds Over Conversions to Islam |newspaper=Al-Monitor |date=July 26, 2012 |author=Saleh Jadallah |accessdate=November 6, 2023 |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105230127/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2012/al-monitor/gaza-christians-and-hamas-at-odd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and vandalism.<ref name="AM0413" />

Those among them working as civil servants in the government and in the private sector are given an official holiday during the week, which some devote to communal prayer in churches. Christians are permitted to obtain any job, in addition to having their full rights and duties as their Muslim counterparts in accordance with the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the regime, and all the systems prevailing over the territories. Moreover, seats have been allocated to Christian citizens in the [[Palestinian Legislative Council]] (PLC) in accordance with a quota system that allocates based on a significant Christian presence.

A census revealed that 40 percent of the Christian community worked in the medical, educational, engineering and law sectors. Additionally, the churches in Gaza are renowned for the relief and educational services that they offer, and Muslim citizens participate in these services. Palestinian citizens as a whole benefit from these services. The Latin Patriarchate School, for example, offers relief in the form of medication and social and educational services. The school has been offering services for nearly 150 years.
[[File:Saint Porphyrius Church, Gaza City.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Saint Porphyrius]] in 2022, before the Israeli airstrike]]
In 1974, the idea of establishing a new school was proposed by Father Jalil Awad, a former parish priest in Gaza who recognized the need to expand the Latin Patriarchate School and build a new complex. In 2011, the Holy family school had 1,250 students and the Roman Catholic primary school, which is an extension of the Latin Patriarchate School, continues to enroll a rising number of young students. The primary school was established approximately 20 years ago. Aside from education, other services are offered to Muslims and Christians alike with no discrimination. Services include women's groups, students' groups and youth groups, such as those offered at the Baptist Church on weekdays.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}} As of 2013, only 113 out of 968 of these Christian schools’ students were in fact Christians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.lpj.org/2013/03/07/holy-family-school-in-gaza-is-growing/|title=Holy Family School in Gaza is growing|work=Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210062927/http://en.lpj.org/2013/03/07/holy-family-school-in-gaza-is-growing/|archive-date=10 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In October 2007, [[Rami Ayyad]], the [[Baptist]] manager of The Teacher's Bookshop, the only Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip, was murdered, following the firebombing of his bookstore and the receipt of death threats from Muslim extremists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.persecution.org/2007/12/25/gaza-christians-observe-somber-christmas-after-murder/|title=Gaza Christians Observe Somber Christmas after Murder|date=25 December 2007|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404102325/http://www.persecution.org/2007/12/25/gaza-christians-observe-somber-christmas-after-murder/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The murder of Rami Ayyad|first=Philip|last=Rizq|work=[[Palestine Chronicle]]|date=15 October 2007|url=http://www.mideastweb.org/Rami_Ayyad_Murder.htm|access-date=19 June 2012|archive-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404074407/http://www.mideastweb.org/Rami_Ayyad_Murder.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, the gate of the Rosary Sisters School was blown up, and the library of a Christian organization for youth was blown up with the guard being kidnapped.<ref name="AM0413" />

From the 3,000 Christians in 2007 when Israel intensified its siege and drove them out of the poor area, estimates indicate that the number of Christians in Gaza has decreased since.
With a history stretching back to the first century, the 800–1,000 Christians who are thought to still be in Gaza represent the oldest Christian community in the world. At least eighteen people were killed when Israel [[Church of Saint Porphyrius airstrike|bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius]], which is the oldest in Gaza, on 19 October 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marsi |first1=Federica |title=Gaza's Christian community faces 'threat of extinction' amid Israel war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/extinction-gaza-christians-fear-for-communitys-survival-amid-israel-war |agency=Al-Jazeera |date=10 Nov 2023 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110073921/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/10/extinction-gaza-christians-fear-for-communitys-survival-amid-israel-war |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Christian emigration===
{{See also|Christian emigration|Palestinian diaspora|Arab diaspora}}
[[File:MontCarmel.20July.2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A pre-1948 celebration of the Feast of [[Elijah|St. Elias]] at [[Stella Maris Monastery]] on [[Mount Carmel]], on 20 July]]
In addition to neighboring countries, such as [[Lebanon]] and [[Jordan]], many Palestinian Christians emigrated to countries in [[Latin America]] (notably [[Argentina]] and [[Chile]]), as well as to [[Australia]], the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. The Palestinian Authority is unable to keep exact tallies.<ref name="ReutersFactbox"/> The share of Christians in the population has also decreased due to the fact that Muslim Palestinians generally have much higher birth rates than the Christians.<ref name="state">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71423.htm#occterr |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=2001-2009.state.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news|title=Guide: Christians in the Middle East|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=15 December 2005|access-date=6 May 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4499668.stm|archive-date=15 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115082349/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4499668.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The causes of this Christian exodus are hotly debated, with various possibilities put forth.<ref name=larry>{{cite news|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710889374&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|title=Persecuted Christians?|first=Larry|date=7 May 2009|access-date=10 May 2009|last=Derfner|archive-date=22 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822142413/https://sdk.streamrail.com/cs-config/cs.html?org=5fc4e64a13fd9b0001fed793&tc=5fcf73ff6900a50001a5ff58&as=5fcf73ff6900a50001a5ff5a&type=hb&wd=cs.yellowblue.io&domain=fr.jpost.com|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the Palestinian Christians in the diaspora are those who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war and their descendants.<ref name="SabellaBushra"/> After discussion between [[Yosef Weitz]] and [[Moshe Sharett]], [[Ben-Gurion]] authorized a project for the transference of the Christian communities of the Galilee to Argentina, but the proposal failed in the face of Christian opposition.<ref>Ali Abunimah, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CET4o1oMztIC&pg=PA97 ''One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse''], Metropolitan Books 2006 p. 97.</ref><ref>Elaine C. Hagopian, ' Palestinian Refugee: Victims of Zionist Ideology,' in Maurine and Robert Tobin (ds.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=zeWXoGGptHAC&pg=PA37 ''How Long O Lord?: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Voices from the Ground and Visions of the Future in Israel/Palestine,''] Cowley Publications 2003 pp. 29–50, 36–37.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Nur |last=Masalha|author-link=Nur Masalha|title=An Israeli Plan to Transfer Galilee's Christians to South America: Yosef Weitz and "Operation Yohanan," 1949–53|journal=CMEIS Occasional Paper |issn=1357-7522 |publisher=Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham|year= 1996}}</ref> [[Reuters]] has reported that the emigrants since then have left in pursuit of better living standards.<ref name="ReutersFactbox"/>

The [[BBC]] has also blamed the economic decline in the Palestinian Authority as well as pressure from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the exodus.<ref name="BBC"/> A report on [[Bethlehem]] residents stated both Christians and Muslims wished to leave but the Christians possessed better contacts with people abroad and higher levels of education.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=Bethlehem's Christians cling to hope|date=22 December 2005|access-date=17 August 2009|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4548312.stm|first=Heather|last=Sharp|archive-date=19 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519083930/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4548312.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Vatican and the Catholic Church blamed the Israeli occupation and the conflict in the Holy Land for the Christian exodus from the Holy Land and the Middle East in general.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?ID=191261&R=R1|title=Israeli-Palestinian conflict blamed for Christian exodus|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=6 July 2010|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=22 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022024135/http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?ID=191261&R=R1|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' (an Israeli newspaper) has stated that the "shrinking of the Palestinian Christian community in the Holy Land came as a direct result of its middle-class standards" and that Muslim pressure has not played a major role according to Christian residents themselves. It reported that the Christians have a public image of elitism and of class privilege as well as of non-violence and of open personalities, which leaves them more vulnerable to criminals than Muslims. Hanna Siniora, a prominent Christian Palestinian human rights activist, has attributed harassment against Christians to "little groups" of "hoodlums" rather than to the Hamas and Fatah governments.<ref name=larry/> In his last novel, the Palestinian Christian writer [[Emile Habibi]] has a character affirm that: "There is no difference between Christian and Muslim: we are all Palestinian in our predicament."<ref>{{cite book|first=Emile|last=Habibi|title=Saraya, the Ogre's Daughter: A Palestinian Fairy Tale|publisher= Ibis Editions|year=2006|page=169}}</ref>

According to a report in ''[[The Independent]]'', thousands of Christian Palestinians "emigrated to Latin America in the 1920s, when Mandatory Palestine was hit by drought and a severe economic depression."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-ravaged-palace-that-symbolises-the-hope-of-peace-2266960.html|title=The ravaged palace that symbolises the hope of peace|author=Matthew Kalman in Beit Jala|date=12 April 2011|work=The Independent|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925133505/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-ravaged-palace-that-symbolises-the-hope-of-peace-2266960.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Today, Chile houses the largest Palestinian Christian community in the world outside of the Levant. As many as 350,000 Palestinian Christians reside in Chile, most of whom came from [[Beit Jala]], Bethlehem, and [[Beit Sahur]].<ref>'You See How Many We Are!'. David Adams [http://www.1worldcommunication.org/youseehow.htm lworldcommunication.org] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917231858/http://1worldcommunication.org/youseehow.htm |date=17 September 2010 }}</ref> Also, [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], [[Brazil]], [[Colombia]], Argentina, [[Venezuela]], and other Latin American countries have significant Palestinian Christian communities, some of whom immigrated almost a century ago during the time of [[History of Palestine#Ottoman period|Ottoman Palestine]].<ref>Palestine in South America. V!VA Travel Guides. [http://www.vivatravelguides.com/south-america/chile/chile-articles/palestine-in-chile/ vivatravelsguides.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318183514/http://www.vivatravelguides.com/south-america/chile/chile-articles/palestine-in-chile/ |date=18 March 2018 }}</ref>

In a 2006 poll of Christians in Bethlehem by the Palestinian Centre for Research and Cultural Dialogue, 90% reported having Muslim friends, 73% agreed that the Palestinian Authority treats Christian heritage in the city with respect, and 78% attributed the ongoing exodus of Christians from Bethlehem to the Israeli occupation and travel restrictions on the area.<ref name="Ekklesia">{{cite web|title=Americans not sure where Bethlehem is, survey shows |publisher=[[Ekklesia (think tank)|Ekklesia]] |date=20 December 2006 |access-date=7 May 2007 |url=http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_061220bethlehem.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015857/http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_061220bethlehem.shtml |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> Daniel Rossing, the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs' chief liaison to Christians in the 1970s and 1980s, has stated that the situations for them in Gaza became much worse after the election of Hamas. He also stated that the Palestinian Authority, which counts on Christian westerners for financial support, treats the minority fairly. He blamed the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]] as the primary problem for the Christians.<ref name=larry/>

The [[United States State Department]]'s 2006 report on [[religious freedom]] criticized both Israel for its restrictions on travel to Christian holy sites and the Palestinian Authority for its failure to stamp out anti-Christian crime. It also reported that the former gives preferential treatment in basic civic services to Jews and the latter does so to Muslims. The report stated that, generally, ordinary Muslim and Christian citizens enjoy good relations in contrast to the "strained" Jewish and Arab relations.<ref name=state/> A 2005 [[BBC]] report also described Muslim and Christian relations as "peaceful".<ref name="BBC"/>

The Arab Human Rights Association, an Arab [[NGO]] in Israel, has stated that Israeli authorities have denied Palestinian Christians in Israel access to holy places, prevented repairs needed to preserve historic holy sites, and carried out physical attacks on religious leaders.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sanctity Denied: The Destruction and Abuse of and Christian Holy Places in Israel|publisher=arabhra.org|access-date=10 May 2009|language=ar|url=http://www.arabhra.org/Hra/SecondaryArticles/SecondaryArticlePage.aspx?SecondaryArticle=1354&Language=2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223214602/http://www.arabhra.org/Hra/SecondaryArticles/SecondaryArticlePage.aspx?SecondaryArticle=1354&Language=2|archive-date=23 February 2010}}</ref>

Multiple factors, the internal dislocation of Palestinians in wars; the creation of three contiguous refugee camps for those displaced; emigration of Muslims from Hebron; hindrances to development under Israeli military occupation with its land confiscations, and a lax and corrupt judicial system under the PNA that is often incapable of enforcing laws, have all contributed to Christian emigration, which has been a tradition since the British Mandate period. 
This has been contested,{{who|date=May 2015}} as the main cause of Christian emigration from Bethlehem, Kairos Palestine—an independent coalition Christian organisation, set up to help communicate to the Christian world what is happening in Palestine—sent a letter to ''The Wall Street Journal'' to explain that "In the case of Bethlehem, for instance, it is in fact the rampant construction of Israeli settlements, the chokehold imposed by the separation wall and the Israeli government's confiscation of Palestinian land that has driven many Christians to leave," the unprinted letter, quoted in ''Haaretz'', states. "At present, a mere 13 percent of Bethlehem-area land is left to its Palestinian inhabitants".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/christian-palestinians-israel-manipulating-facts-by-claiming-we-are-welcome-1.420718|title=Christian Palestinians: Israel 'Manipulating Facts' by Claiming We Are Welcome|work=Haaretz|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=20 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820113746/http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/christian-palestinians-israel-manipulating-facts-by-claiming-we-are-welcome-1.420718|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most of the Gaza Strip's Christian population lived in [[Gaza City]], in the north.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tulloch |first=Joseph |title=Palestinian Christians despair as Gaza homeland destroyed by Israel's war |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/11/9/palestinian-christians-despair-as-gaza-homeland-destroyed-by-israels-war |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In 2023 the Israeli militarily [[Gaza Strip evacuations|attempted to force them out]] by the [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza fear they won't be able to return to their homes |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-displaced-palestinians-in-northern-gaza-fear-they-wont-be-able-to-return-to-their-homes/mm89si6c6 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=SBS News |language=en}}</ref> As of October 2024, most of Gaza's Christians had refused to leave, our not felt safe to traverse the war zone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sudilovsky |first=Judith |title=In the 'bleeding region,' Gaza Strip's Christian community lifts each other up, defying reality |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/bleeding-region-gaza-strips-christian-community-lifts-each-other-defying-reality |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=www.ncronline.org |language=en}}</ref> In November 2024, Israel announced that no Palestinians would be allowed to "return" to North Gaza.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kubovich |first=Yaniv |title='There will be no return': IDF says it won't allow residents to return to northern Gaza |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-11-08/ty-article/there-will-be-no-return-idf-says-it-wont-allow-residents-to-return-to-northern-gaza/00000193-0c79-d49a-a993-4cfd67f90000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111210042/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-11-08/ty-article/there-will-be-no-return-idf-says-it-wont-allow-residents-to-return-to-northern-gaza/00000193-0c79-d49a-a993-4cfd67f90000 |archive-date=11 November 2024 |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=McKernan |first1=Bethan |last2=Christou |first2=William |date=2024-11-06 |title=Palestinians will not be allowed to return to homes in northern Gaza, says IDF |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/06/palestinians-will-not-be-allowed-to-return-to-homes-in-northern-gaza-says-idf |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-07 |title=Palestinians not allowed to return home to Northern Gaza: IDF |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/palestinians-not-allowed-to-return-home-to-northern-gaza/104575324 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Persecutions===
{{see also|List of Israeli price tag attacks}}
Majority of Palestinian Christians are leaving the territories due to the Arab-Israeli conflict.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/02/persecution-driving-christians-out-of-middle-east-report | title=Persecution of Christians 'coming close to genocide' in Middle East – report | newspaper=The Guardian | date=2 May 2019 | last1=Wintour | first1=Patrick | access-date=17 October 2023 | archive-date=21 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921092828/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/02/persecution-driving-christians-out-of-middle-east-report | url-status=live }}</ref> There have been reports of attacks on Palestinian Christians in Gaza from Muslim extremist groups. Gaza Pastor [[Manuel Musallam]] has voiced doubts that those attacks were religiously motivated.<ref>Musallam, Manuel (27 November 2007). "Christians And Muslims Coexist in Gaza". IPS news. [http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40241 ipsnews.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611055104/http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40241|date=11 June 2011}}</ref>

Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Custodian of the Holy Land, a senior Catholic spokesman, has stated that police inaction and an educational culture that encourages Jewish children to treat Christians with "contempt" has made life increasingly "intolerable" for many Christians. Fr Pizzaballa's statement came after pro-settler extremists attacked a Trappist monastery in the town of Latroun, setting fire to its door, and covering walls with anti-Christian graffiti. The incident followed a series of acts of arson and vandalism, in 2012, targeting places of Christian worship, including Jerusalem's 11th century Monastery of the Cross, where slogans such as "Death to Christians" and other offensive graffiti were daubed on its walls. According to an article in the Telegraph, Christian leaders feel that the most important issue that Israel has failed to address is the practice of some ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools to teach children that it is a religious obligation to abuse anyone in Holy Orders they encounter in public, such that Ultra-Orthodox Jews, including children as young as eight, spit at members of the clergy on a daily basis.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blomfield|first=Adrian|date=7 September 2012|title=Vatican official says Israel fostering intolerance of Christianity|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9529123/Vatican-official-says-Israel-fostering-intolerance-of-Christianity.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9529123/Vatican-official-says-Israel-fostering-intolerance-of-Christianity.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

After [[Regensburg lecture|Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam]] in September 2006, five churches of various denominations were firebombed and shot at in the West Bank and Gaza. A Muslim extremist group called "[[Islamist anti-Hamas groups in the Gaza Strip#Lions of Monotheism|Lions of Monotheism]]" claimed responsibility.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/763199.html "Report: Rome tightens pope's security after fury over Islam remarks"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201182506/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/763199.html |date=1 December 2008 }}, ''[[Haaretz]]'', 16 September 2006</ref> Former Palestinian Prime Minister and [[Hamas]] leader [[Ismail Haniyeh]] condemned the attacks, and police presence was elevated in [[Bethlehem]], which has a sizable Christian community.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fisher|first=Ian|date=17 September 2006|title=Pope Apologizes for Remarks About Islam|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/world/europe/17cnd-pope.html?ex=1316145600&en=bd45a56d2f9e575a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|access-date=2010-05-21|archive-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208140509/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/world/europe/17cnd-pope.html?ex=1316145600&en=bd45a56d2f9e575a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss|url-status=live}}</ref>

Armenians in Jerusalem, identified as Palestinian Christians or [[Armenians in Israel|Israeli-Armenians]], have also been attacked and received threats from Jewish extremists; Christians and clergy have been spat at, and one Armenian Archbishop was beaten and his centuries-old cross broken. In September 2009, two Armenian Christian clergy were expelled after a brawl erupted with a Jewish extremist for spitting on holy Christian objects.<ref>Hagopian, Arthur (9 September 2009). "Armenian Patriarchate protests deportation of seminarians". [http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=57786&s2=10 uruknet.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719112245/http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=57786&s2=10 |date=19 July 2011 }}</ref>

In February 2009, a group of Christian activists within the [[West Bank]] wrote an [[open letter]] asking [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to postpone his scheduled trip to Israel unless the government changed its treatment.<ref name="visit">[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29332232/ Holy Land Christians urge pope to call off visit]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}. [[MSNBC.com]]. Published 22 February 2009.</ref> They highlighted improved access to places of worship and ending the taxation of church properties as key concerns.<ref name="visit" /> The Pope began his five-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Sunday, 10 May, planning to express support for the region's Christians.<ref name="ReutersFactbox" /> In response to Palestinian public statements, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor criticized the political polarization of the papal visit, remarking that "[i]t will serve the cause of peace much better if this visit is taken for what it is, a pilgrimage, a visit for the cause of peace and unity".<ref>{{cite news|date=8 May 2009|title=Palestinians seek papal pressure on Israel|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8496494|access-date=10 May 2009|archive-date=4 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204033433/http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8496494|url-status=live}}</ref>

;Bethlehem
Christian families are the largest landowners in Bethlehem and have often been subject to theft of property. Bethlehem's core of traditional Christian and Muslim families speak of the rise of a 'foreign', more conservative, Islamic Hebronite class as changing the traditional regional identity of the town, as are the villages dominated by the Ta'amre Bedouin clans close to Bethlehem. Rising Muslim land purchase, said at times to be Saudi-financed, and incidents of land theft with forged documents, except in Beit Sahour where Christian and Muslims share a strong sense of local identity, are seen by Christians as making their demographic presence vulnerable. Christians are often described as of Yamani descent (as are some Muslim clans), vs the al-Qaysi Muslim clans, respectively from southern and northern Arabia. Christians are wary of the international media and of discussing these issues publicly, which involve criticism of fellow Palestinians, since there is a risk that their remarks may be manipulated by outsiders to undermine Palestinian claims to nationhood, distract attention from the crippling impact of Israel's occupation, and conjure up an image of a Muslim drive to oust Christians from Bethlehem.<ref>Bård Kårtveit, 'Land, Law and Family Protection in the West Bank,' in Anh Nga Longva, Anne Sofie Roald (eds.),[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ab0yAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA116  ''Religious Minorities in the Middle East: Domination, Self-Empowerment, Accommodation,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101174806/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ab0yAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |date=1 November 2022 }} Brill, 2011 pp. 97–121, esp. pp. 116f.</ref>

The [[Christian Broadcasting Network]] (an American Protestant organization) claimed that Palestinian Christians suffer systematic discrimination and persecution at the hands of the predominantly Muslim population and Palestinian government aimed at driving their population out of their homeland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/tv/1627252503001?mobile=false|title=Why Are Christians Really Leaving Bethlehem?|publisher=CBN|access-date=2 June 2018|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141201/http://www.cbn.com/tv/1627252503001?mobile=false|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem and Beit Jala have claimed otherwise that it is the loss of agricultural land and expropriation from the Israeli military, the persecution of 1948 and violence from the military occupation that has led to a flight and major exodus of Christians.<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/MAGAZINE-a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-the-west-bank-s-last-christians-1.5629510 Lonely This Christmas A Glimpse Into the Life of the West Bank's Last Christians] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822145640/https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/MAGAZINE-a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-the-west-bank-s-last-christians-1.5629510 |date=22 August 2019 }}, Dina Kraft, 26 Dec 2017, [[Haaretz]]</ref>

On 26 September 2015, the Mar Charbel monastery in Bethlehem was set on fire, resulting in the burning of many rooms and damaging various parts of the building.<ref name=lpj>{{cite web|url=http://en.lpj.org/2015/09/30/bethlehem-mar-charbel-monastery-set-on-fire/|title=Bethlehem: Mar Charbel Monastery set on fire|work=Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008020801/http://en.lpj.org/2015/09/30/bethlehem-mar-charbel-monastery-set-on-fire/|archive-date=8 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In September 2016, the [[Jerusalem]]-based [[Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation]] (CJCUC) established [[Blessing Bethlehem]], a charity [[fundraising]] initiative with the purpose of helping the persecuted [[Christians]] living in the city of [[Bethlehem]] and its surrounding areas.<ref name="jpost-september-2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Media-Comment-The-positive-side-568222|title=MEDIA COMMENT: THE POSITIVE SIDE|first=YISRAEL MEDAD|last=ELI POLLAK|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=28 September 2018|access-date=1 October 2019|archive-date=7 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707080515/https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Media-Comment-The-positive-side-568222|url-status=live}}</ref>