Editing Palestinian Christians (section)

===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>