View source for Palestinian Christians

{{Short description|Religious minority of the Palestinian people}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox religious group|group=Palestinian Christians<br>
المسيحيون الفلسطينيون|flag=[[File: Flag of Palestine.svg|200px]]|flag_caption=The [[Palestinian flag]]|population=~500,000 (~6.5% of the global Palestinian population) (1990s–2000s estimate)|regions={{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Palestinian diaspora]] (~56%)<br>{{flag|Israel}} (~148,000)<br>{{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Occupied Palestinian Territory]] (~50,000) |languages=[[Palestinian Arabic]]}}

{{Palestinians}}
'''Palestinian Christians''' ({{langx|ar|مَسِيحِيُّون فِلَسْطِينِيُّون|Masīḥiyyūn Filasṭīniyyūn}}) are a religious community of the [[Palestinians|Palestinian people]] consisting of those who identify as [[Christians]], including those who are [[cultural Christians]] in addition to those who actively adhere to [[Christianity]]. They are a religious minority within [[Palestine]] and [[Israel]], as well as within the [[Palestinian diaspora]]. Applying the broader definition, which groups together individuals with full or partial Palestinian Christian ancestry, the term was applied to an estimated 500,000 people globally in the year 2000.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farsoun |first1=Samih |title=Culture and Customs of the Palestinians|date=2004}}</ref> As most Palestinians are [[Arabs]], the overwhelming majority of Palestinian Christians also identify as [[Arab Christians]].

Most Palestinian Christians belong to one of a number of [[Christian denomination]]s, including [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] (both the [[Latin Church]] and the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]), [[Anglicanism]], and [[Protestantism]] (such as [[Lutheranism]]), among others. In the 1990s, an estimate by Professor [[Bernard Sabella]] of [[Bethlehem University]] postulated that approximately 6.5% of the global Palestinian population was Christian, and that 56% of this figure was living outside of Palestine and Israel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palestinian Christians: Challenges and Hopes|author=Bernard Sabella|publisher=Bethlehem University|url=http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm|access-date=25 April 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415005256/http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm|archive-date=15 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{As of|2015}}, Palestinian Christians comprise between 1% and 2.5% of the population of the [[West Bank]], and about 3,000 (0.13%) of the population of the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/west-bank/|title=The World Factbook|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722231029/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/west-bank/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://imeu.org/article/palestinian-christians-in-the-holy-land|title=Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land|author=IMEU|access-date=21 January 2016|archive-date=4 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104224711/http://imeu.org/article/palestinian-christians-in-the-holy-land|url-status=live}}</ref> According to official [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]] statistics, Christians accounted for 9.5% of the total population (and 10.8% of [[Demographic history of Palestine (region)#British Mandate era|Palestine's Arabs]]) in 1922 and 7.9% of the total population in 1946.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report to the League of Nations on Palestine and Transjordan, 1937 |publisher=British Government |year=1937 |access-date=14 July 2013 |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7BDD2C11C15B54C2052565D10057251E |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923061547/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7BDD2C11C15B54C2052565D10057251E |archive-date=23 September 2013 }}</ref> Over the course of the [[1948 Palestine war|1947–1949 Palestine war]] between the Palestinian Arabs and the [[Palestinian Jews]], a large number of these Christians—as part of the Arab community—[[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|fled or were expelled by Jewish militias]] from what would become recognized as Israeli territory following the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]]. Since the [[Six-Day War|1967 Arab–Israeli War]], which resulted in [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories]] (the Jordanian-annexed West Bank and the [[Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic|Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip]]), the Palestinian Christian population has increased as a whole, but has decreased as a percentage of the total Palestinian population.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5145/images/JCPA%20Background%20Paper%20on%20Palestinian%20Christians%207%202.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711212506/https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5145/images/JCPA%20Background%20Paper%20on%20Palestinian%20Christians%207%202.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 July 2012 |title=JCPA Background Paper on Palestinian Christians |author=Jewish Council for Public Affairs |access-date=23 July 2013 }}</ref>

Many individuals of the Palestinian diaspora who identify as Christians are descendants of the post-1948 [[Palestinian refugees|Palestinian Christian refugees]] who fled from the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] and settled in [[Christendom|Christian-majority countries]].<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Rockford Institute|title=Chronicles – Volume 26|date=2002|page=7}}</ref><ref>''The Palestinian Diaspora'', p. 43, Helena Lindholm Schulz, 2005</ref> 
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Gaza City Christmas Tree at Gaza YMCA on Al-Jalla Street prior to [[2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip2023]]

Attacks on churches during  "Israel Hamas" war

Israeli mayor of Jerusalem (inaccurately) claiming there were no Christians in Gaza under Hamas leadership?

Update church leaders - I know Anglican is our of date

LIST OF NOTABLE PEOPLE

Current leader of DFLP??? (may or may not be current, and often described as "Jordanian" by Israelis)

And for the bigger list of Palestinians linked below
The congress woman in the USA
The Scottish MP - wife of Hamza Yousef
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== Ethnic identity ==
Palestinian Christians of different denominations are united by a common ethnic and Christian identity, as well as the experience of a connection to the birthplace of Christianity and a role in caring for its holy sites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rafael |first=Anna-Liisa |last2=Heikkinen |first2=Anne K. |date=25 October 2024 |title=Kolonialismi palestiinalaiskristittyjen arjessa, ajattelussa ja kohtaamisissa |url=https://lahihistoria.journal.fi/article/view/148487 |journal=Lähihistoria |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=88–131 |doi=10.61559/lh.148487 |issn=2954-114X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Many Palestinian Christians are descended from early Christians, and they have sometimes called themselves "living stones". Although religion is perceived as a partly divisive factor, the common Palestinian and Arab identity of Palestinian Christians is also shared with [[Palestinian Muslims]].<ref>Parkkinen, Mari (2021): [https://erepo.uef.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/83ac7f04-9eb1-45a8-8dbb-f1010fd66872/content Fragmented Religion in a Turbulent Context : The Personal and Communal Dimensions of Christianity in Palestinian Christians Lifeworlds]. Doctoral thesis. University of Eastern Finland. Dissertations in Education, Humanities, and Theology; 178.  ISBN 978-952-61-4361-3 ISSN: 1798-5633</ref>

That Christian Arabs in Palestine see themselves as Arab reflects also the fact that, as of the beginning of the twentieth century, they shared many of the same customs as their Muslim neighbors. In some respects, this was a consequence of Christians adopting what were essentially Islamic practices, many of which were derived of ''sharî'ah''. In others, it was more the case that the customs shared by both Muslims and Christians derived from neither faith, but rather were a result of a process of syncretization, whereby what had once been pagan practices were later redefined as Christian and subsequently adopted by Muslims. This was especially evident in the fact that Palestine's Muslims and Christians shared many of the same feast days, in honor of the same saints, even if they referred to them by different names. "Shrines dedicated to St. George, for instance, were transformed into shrines honoring Khidr-Ilyas, a conflation of the Prophet Elijah and the mythical sprite Khidr". Added to this, many Muslims viewed local Christian churches as saints' shrines. Thus, for instance, "Muslim women having difficulties conceiving, for instance, might travel to Bethlehem to pray for a child before the Virgin Mary".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Freas |first=Erik |title=Muslim-Christian Relations in Late Ottoman Palestine, Where Nationalism and Religion Intersect |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-137-57041-3 |location=New York |pages=70–71}}</ref> It was even not uncommon for a Muslim to have his child baptized in a Christian church, in the name of [[Khidr|Khaḍr]].<ref>Lance D.Laird,'Boundaries and ''Baraka'': Christians, Muslims, and a Palestinian Saint,' in Margaret Cormack (ed.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=B0Y8o_lAnUAC&pg=PA61 ''Muslims and Others in Sacred Space,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101174806/https://books.google.it/books?id=B0Y8o_lAnUAC&pg=PA61|date=1 November 2022}} Oxford University Press, 2013 pp. 40–73, p. 61.</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==

In 2009, there were an estimated 50,000 Christians in the Palestinian territories, mostly in the West Bank, with about 3,000 [[Gazan Christians|in the Gaza Strip]].<ref name="ReutersFactbox">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-pope-mideast-christians-sb/factbox-christians-in-israel-west-bank-and-gaza-idUKTRE5491FH20090510 |title=FACTBOX – Christians in Israel, West Bank and Gaza |work=[[Reuters]] |date=10 May 2009 |access-date=11 January 2014 |archive-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215204247/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-pope-mideast-christians-sb/factbox-christians-in-israel-west-bank-and-gaza-idUKTRE5491FH20090510 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, about 1,100 Christians lived in the Gaza Strip – down from over 1300 in 2014.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Israel denies Gaza Christians permits to celebrate Christmas with families |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-gaza-christians-christmas-celebration-permits-denied |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en |archive-date=11 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211223653/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-gaza-christians-christmas-celebration-permits-denied |url-status=live }}</ref> About 80% of the Christian Palestinians live in an urban environment. In the West Bank, they are concentrated mostly in Jerusalem and its vicinity: Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Ramallah, Bir Zayt, Jifna, Ein Arik, Taybeh.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population of Palestine |url=https://fanack.com/palestine/population-of-palestine/ |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=Fanack.com |language=en-US |archive-date=28 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128090807/https://fanack.com/palestine/population-of-palestine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Of the total Christian population of 185,000 in [[Israel]], about 80% are designated as Arabs, many of whom self-identify as Palestinian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-palestinians-not-israeli-arabs-makdisi-blowback-20150327-story.html|title=Opinion: They're Palestinians, not 'Israeli Arabs'|date=27 March 2015|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=28 September 2019|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622143001/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-palestinians-not-israeli-arabs-makdisi-blowback-20150327-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ReutersFactbox" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Arab Israeli Village Celebrates Chechnya Roots|url=http://forward.com/articles/188529/arab-israeli-village-celebrates-chechnya-roots-t/|work=The Forward|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-date=11 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411212618/http://forward.com/articles/188529/arab-israeli-village-celebrates-chechnya-roots-t/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The majority (56%) of Palestinian Christians live in the Palestinian diaspora.<ref name="SabellaBushra">{{cite web |url=http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm |title=Palestinian Christians: Challenges and Hopes |last1=Sabella |first1=Bernard |publisher=Al-Bushra |date=12 February 2003 |access-date=11 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415005256/http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm |archive-date=15 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Demographics and denominations==

===1922 census===
[[File:Christian sects in Palestine from the 1922 Palestine census.png|thumb|left|Christian sects in Palestine from the [[1922 census of Palestine]]]]
In the [[1922 census of Palestine]] there were approximately 73,000 Christian Palestinians: 46% Orthodox, 40% Catholic (20% [[Latin Church|Latin Catholic]], and 20% [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic]]).

The census recorded over 200 localities with a Christian population.<ref name="Census1922">{{cite book |editor=J. B. Barron |title=Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |publisher=Government of Palestine |year=1923 |at=Tables XII–XVI}}</ref> The totals by denomination for all of Mandatory Palestine were: [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox]] 33,369, [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite)]] 813, [[Latin Church|Latin Catholic]] 14,245, [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic (Melkite)]] 11,191, [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]] 323, [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholic]] 271, [[Maronite]] 2,382, [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Orthodox (Gregorian)]] 2,939, [[Coptic Church]] 297, [[Abyssinian Church]] 85, Church of England 4,553, Presbyterian Church 361, Protestants 826, Lutheran Church 437, [[Templars Community]] 724, others 208.<ref name="Census1922"/>

The census also listed 10,707 Palestinian Christians living abroad, making up the largest portion of the Palestinians living abroad at the time: 32 in [[Australia]], 17 in [[Africa]], 1 in [[Austria]], 1 in [[Belgium]], 1 in [[Bulgaria]], 2 in [[Canada]], 242 in [[Egypt]], 34 in [[France]], 59 in [[Germany]], 1 in [[Greece]], 7 in [[Italy]], 4 in [[Morocco]], 1 in [[Iraq|Mesopotamia]], 1 in [[Paraguay]], 5 in [[Iran|Persia]], 4 in [[Russia]], 1 in [[South Africa]], 11 in [[East Africa]], 7 in [[Sudan]], 6 in [[Sweden]], 1 in [[Switzerland]], 2 in [[Spain]], 122 in [[Syria]], 95 in [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]], 8,517 in [[South America|South]] and [[Central America]]n republics, 17 in [[Turkey]], 6 in the [[United Kingdom]], 1,352 in the [[United States]], and 158 whose locations were unknown.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |title=Palestine Census (1922)}}</ref>

=== Denominations ===

{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2025}}

Around 50% of Palestinian Christians belong to the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem]]{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}, one of the 15 churches of [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]. There are also [[Catholic Church in Israel|Catholics]] ([[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkites]], [[Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Latins]], [[Maronites in Israel|Maronites]]), [[Oriental Orthodox]] ([[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenians]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Copts]]), [[Protestant]]s ([[Anglicans]], [[Lutheran]]s, others), and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].

=== Church leadership ===

[[Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem|Patriarch Theophilos III]] is the leader of the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem]] since 2005. He replaced [[Patriarch Irenaios|Irenaios]] (in office from 2001), who was deposed by the church synod after a term surrounded by controversy and scandal over a sale of property owned by the Greek Orthodox Church to Jewish investors.<ref name=state /> The Israel government initially refused to recognize Theophilos's appointment<ref name=Rapaport>{{cite web|title=Government's precondition for Orthodox patriarch's appointment: 'Sell church property only to Israelis'|author=Meron Rapoport|date=11 February 2007|access-date=15 December 2007|url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824128.html|archive-date=18 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218061215/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824128.html|url-status=live}}</ref> but finally granted full recognition in December 2007, despite a legal challenge by his predecessor Irenaios.<ref name="fr.jpost.com">{{cite news|title=Jerusalem affairs: Religiously political|date=20 December 2007|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847396248&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|access-date=25 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917044043/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847396248&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|archive-date=17 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Archbishop [[Theodosios (Hanna) of Sebastia]] {{when|date=September 2018}}<!-- is --> the highest ranking Palestinian clergyman in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem]] is the leader of the Latin Catholics in [[Jerusalem]], [[Palestine]], [[Jordan]], Israel and [[Cyprus]]. The office has been held by [[Pierbattista Pizzaballa]] since his appointment by [[Pope Francis]] on 6 November 2020.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.lpj.org/posts/patriarch-pizzaballa-takes-possession-of-see-of-latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem.html | access-date = 2 March 2021 | date = 6 November 2020 | title = Patriarch Pizzaballa takes possession of See of Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem | website = Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem | archive-date = 27 October 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221027125255/https://www.lpj.org/posts/patriarch-pizzaballa-takes-possession-of-see-of-latin-patriarchate-of-jerusalem.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> [[George Bacouni]], of the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]], is [[Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Akka|Archbishop of Akka]], with jurisdiction over [[Haifa]], Acre and the [[Galilee]], and replaced [[Elias Chacour]], a Palestinian refugee, in 2014. [[Moussa El-Hage]], of the [[Maronite Church]], is since 2012 simultaneously Archbishop of the [[Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land]] and [[Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Palestine|Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine]].

<!-- OUT OF DATE INFO
-->The [[Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem]] is [[Suheil Dawani]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=797|title=Suheil Dawani enthroned as Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem|first=Come and|last=See|website=Come And See|access-date=28 September 2019|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119011016/http://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=797|url-status=live}}</ref> who replaced Bishop [[Riah Abou Al Assal]]. Bishop Dr. [[Munib Younan]] is the president of the [[Lutheran World Federation]] and the Bishop of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land]] (ELCJHL).

==== International Christian Organisations in Palestine ====

Various international Christian organisations provide services in Palestine to Palestinians of all religious backgrounds.

* [[YMCA]] in Gaza and Jerusalem 
* The [[Anglican Church]] runs the [[Al-Ahli Arab Hospital]] 
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Other hospitals? 
Other community orgs? 
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==== Christian development assistance ====
<!-- is this about Palestinian Christians or foreign Christian orgs -->
A study showed $416 million annual spending of Christian institutions on Palestinian society, in sectors such as health care, education, social services, vocational training and development assistance interventions in all Palestinian governorates.<ref name="AM1221">{{cite web |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/12/gazas-few-christians-lift-economy |title=Gaza's few Christians lift economy |newspaper=Al-Monitor |date=21 December 2021 |author=Hadeel Al Gherbawi |accessdate=6 November 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322061943/https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/12/gazas-few-christians-lift-economy |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==

===Background and early history===
[[File:Jerusalem Cross.svg|thumb|left|The Jerusalem Cross]]
[[File:Interior of the House of a Christian Family in Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Interior of the house of a Christian family in Jerusalem. By [[William Henry Bartlett|W. H. Bartlett]], {{Circa|1850}}]]
The first Christian communities in [[Judaea (Roman province)|Roman Judea]] originated from the followers of [[Jesus of Nazareth]], who was put to death and [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucified]] by order of the [[Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135)|Prefect]] [[Pontius Pilate]] in 30–33; they were [[Aramaic]] speaking [[Jewish Christian]] and, later, [[Roman Empire|Latin]] and [[Koine Greek|Greek]]-speaking [[ancient Rome|Romans]] and [[Greeks]], who were in part descendants from previous settlers of the regions, such as [[Canaan|Syro-Phoenicians]], [[Arameans]], [[Greeks]], [[Persian people|Persians]], and [[Arab people|Arabs]] such as [[Nabataeans]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Theissen|first=G|title=Sociology of early Palestinian Christianity|year=1978|publisher=Fortress Press|isbn=978-0-8006-1330-3|page=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NovYAAAAMAAJ|access-date=19 March 2016|archive-date=19 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119051344/https://books.google.com/books?id=NovYAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>{{verify source|date=November 2013}}

Contrary to other groups of oriental Christians such as the largely [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] [[Nestorians]], the vast majority of Palestinian Christians went under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] and [[Eastern Roman Empire|Roman emperors]] after the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451&nbsp;AD (which would be part of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] after the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]]), and were known by other [[Syriac Christianity|Syrian Christians]] as [[Melkite]]s (followers of the king).<ref name=Thomas16>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=D. R.|title=Syrian Christians under Islam: The First Thousand Years|year=2001|publisher=Brill|publication-place=Leiden|isbn=978-90-04-12055-6|pages=16–18}}</ref> The Melkites were heavily [[Hellenization|Hellenised]] in the following centuries, abandoning their distinct [[Western Aramaic languages]] in favour of [[Greek language|Greek]]. By the 7th century, [[Jerusalem]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and Byzantine Palestine became the epicentre of Greek culture in the Orient.<ref name=Thomas16 />

In the fourth century, the monk [[Hilarion]] introduced monasticism in the area around Gaza which became a flourishing monastic center (including the [[Saint Hilarion Monastery]] and the [[monastery of Seridus]]), second only to the cluster of monasteries in the Judaean desert (which include the [[Mar Saba monastery]]).<ref name=YH04>{{cite book |author= [[Yizhar Hirschfeld|Hirschfeld, Yizhar]] |chapter= The monasteries of Gaza: An archaeological review |pages= 61–62, 87 |editor1= Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony |editor2= Aryeh Kofsky |title= Christian Gaza in Late Antiquity |year= 2004 |publisher= Brill |isbn= 9789004138681 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lA9VwVwoyiAC&pg=PA67 |access-date= 12 November 2023 |archive-date= 9 January 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240109013450/https://books.google.com/books?id=lA9VwVwoyiAC&pg=PA67 |url-status= live }}</ref>

Following [[Muslim conquest of Syria#Conquest of Palestine|Muslim conquests]], non-Arabic speaking Christians underwent a gradual process of [[Arabization]] in which they abandoned [[Aramaic]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] in favor of [[Arabic language|Arabic]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Masalha |first=Nur |date=2016 |title=The Concept of Palestine: The Conception Of Palestine from the Late Bronze Age to the Modern Period |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/hlps.2016.0140 |journal=Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=143–202 |doi=10.3366/hlps.2016.0140 |issn=2054-1988 |quote=In the mid-7th century the population of Palestine was predominantly Christian, mostly Palestinian Aramaic-speaking Christian peasants who continued to speak the language of Jesus under Islam. |access-date=9 July 2024 |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104124136/https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/hlps.2016.0140 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Thomas16"/> The Melkites began abandoning Greek for [[Arabic language|Arabic]], a process which made them the most Arabicised Christians in the Levant.<ref name=Thomas16/> Most Arab [[Ghassanids]] remained Christian and joined [[Melkite]] and [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac]] communities within what is now [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], [[Palestine]], [[Syria]], and [[Lebanon]].<ref name="Bowersock">{{cite book |last1=Bowersock |first1=G. W. |url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquity00brow |title=Late Antiquity: A guide to the Postclassical World |last2=Brown |first2=Peter |last3=Grabar |first3=Oleg |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1998 |isbn=9780674511705 |quote=Late Antiquity - Bowersock/Brown/Grabar. |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The eleventh century Melkite [[bishop of Gaza]] [[Sulayman al-Ghazzi]] holds a unique place in the history of Arab Christian literature as author of the first [[Diwan (poetry)|diwan]] of Christian religious poetry in Arabic. His poems give insights into the life of Palestinian Christians and the persecution they suffered under [[Fatimid caliph]] [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Noble |first1=Samuel |last2=Treiger |first2=Alexander |title=The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700–1700: An Anthology of Sources |date=15 March 2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5130-1 |pages=160–162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6rMDwAAQBAJ |access-date=15 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

In the late sixteenth century, Christianity in southern [[Bilad al-Sham|Bilad ash-Sham]] was primarily rural, with a significant portion of the population living in villages and tribes. Christians were dispersed among numerous towns and villages in the vicinity of Jerusalem, some had been inhabited by Christians since Byzantine and Frankish rule. Villages with Christian population included [[Taybeh, Ramallah|Taybeh]], [[Beit Rima]], [[Jifna|Jifna an-Nasara]], [[Ramallah]], [[Yabrud, Ramallah|Yabrud]], [[Aboud]], [[Suba, Jerusalem|Suba]], [[Teqoa|Tuqu]], [[Nahalin]], and [[Artas, Bethlehem|Artas]]. The Christians living in these villages were mainly of [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] denomination, although exceptions existed, such as the [[Syriac Christianity|Syrian Christian]] community in Aboud.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Tramontana |first=Felicita |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc16s06 |title=Passages of Faith: Conversion in Palestinian villages (17th century) |date=2014 |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-10135-6 |edition=1 |pages=24–25 |chapter=Chapter I "Christians in Seventeenth-century Palestine" |doi=10.2307/j.ctvc16s06.6 |jstor=j.ctvc16s06 |access-date=15 May 2024 |archive-date=15 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515111016/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc16s06 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Modern history===
{{See also|Bethlehem#Christian population}}
[[File:Palestinian Christian Scouts Nativity Church in Bethlehem Christmas Eve 2006.jpg|thumb|left|Palestinian Christian Scouts on Christmas Eve in front of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem (2006)]]

During the [[Ottoman Empire]], foreign powers enjoyed positions of guardianship towards minorities, including the French for the Christians of [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Orthodox Christians]] more specifically came under the protections of the [[Russian Empire]]. This placed Palestinian Christians with protection privileges, and access to missionary schools, which enabled them to engage in commerce with European traders. In addition, Christian merchants had lower rates of duty to pay than their Muslim counterparts, and thus they established themselves as bankers and moneylenders for Muslim landowners, artisans and peasants. This growing middle class produced several newspaper owners and editors and played leading roles in Palestinian political life.<ref>{{cite book|url=|title=The Balfour Declaration: Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine|author=Bernard Regan|publisher=Verso Books|date=30 October 2018|page=57}}</ref>

The category of 'Palestinian Arab Christian' came to assume a political dimension in the 19th century as international interest grew and foreign institutions were developed there. The urban elite began to undertake the construction of a modern multi-religious Arab civil society. When the British received from the [[League of Nations]] a mandate to administer Palestine after [[World War I]], many British dignitaries in London were surprised to discover so many Christian leaders in the Palestinian Arab political movements. The British authorities in the Mandate of Palestine had difficulty understanding the commitment of the Palestinian Christians to [[Palestinian nationalism]].<ref>Laura Robson, ''Colonialism and Christianity in Mandate Palestine,'' University of Texas Press, 2011 p. 159</ref>[[File:55.Bethlehem.jpg|thumb|upright|Four Bethlehemi Christian women, 1911]]Palestinian Christian-owned ''[[Falastin (newspaper)|Falastin]]'' was founded in 1911 in the then Arab-majority city of [[Jaffa]]. The newspaper is often described as one of the most influential newspapers in historic Palestine, and probably the nation's fiercest and most consistent critic of the [[Zionism|Zionist]] movement. It helped shape Palestinian identity and [[Palestinian Nationalism|nationalism]] and was shut down several times by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and [[Mandatory Palestine|British]] authorities, most of the time due to complaints made by Zionists.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ironcagestoryofp00khal|url-access=registration|quote=rashid khalidi the iron cage.|title=The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood|author=Rashid Khalidi|access-date=25 January 2016|publisher=Beacon Press|date=9 January 2006| isbn=9780807003084 }}</ref> Following the British takeover of Palestine in 1918 during the final stages of the [[World War I|First World War]], groups called "[[Muslim-Christian Associations]]" were formed across the new [[Mandatory Palestine]] in order to oppose the Zionist movement and implementation of the Balfour Declaration.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kayyali |first=Abdul-Wahhab Said |title=Palestine: A Modern History |date=1981 |publisher=Croom Helm |isbn=086199-007-2}}</ref> In the 1920s, it was noted that the inhabitants of [[Beit Kahil]], [[Dayr Aban]] and [[Taffuh]] were originally Christian.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Ben-Zvi |first=Itzhak |author-link=Yitzhak Ben-Zvi |title=שאר ישוב: מאמרים ופרקים בדברי ימי הישוב העברי בא"י ובחקר המולדת |publisher=none |year=1967 |location=תל אביב תרפ"ז |pages=409–410 |language=Hebrew |trans-title=She'ar Yeshuv}}</ref>
The [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight]]– the foundational events of the [[Nakba]]– left the multi-denominational Christian Arab communities in disarray. They had little background in theology, their work being predominantly pastoral, and their immediate task was to assist the thousands of homeless refugees. But it also sowed the seeds for the development of a [[Liberation Theology]] among Palestinian Arab Christians.<ref>Nur Masalha, Lisa Isherwood, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wKVbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22  ''Theologies of Liberation in Palestine-Israel: Indigenous, Contextual, and Postcolonial Perspectives,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101174807/https://books.google.it/books?id=wKVbBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22 |date=1 November 2022 }} The Lutterworth Press, 2014 pp. 21–22</ref>

There was a differential policy of expulsion. More lenience was applied to the Christians of the Galilee where expulsion mostly affected Muslims: at [[Ma'alot-Tarshiha|Tarshiha]], Me'eliya, [[Dayr al-Qassi]], and [[Sabalan, Safad|Salaban]], Christians were allowed to remain while Muslims were driven out.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} At [[Iqrit]] and [[Kafr Bir'im|Bir'im]] the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) ordered Christians to evacuate for a brief spell, an order that was then confirmed as a permanent expulsion. Sometimes in a mixed Druze-Christian village like al-Rama, only the Christians were initially expelled towards Lebanon, but, thanks to the intervention of the local Druze, they were permitted to return. The IDF carried out massacres of Christians at the villages of [[Eilabun massacre|Eilabun]] and [[Al-Bassa#1948 Palestine war|Al-Bassa]]. [[Nazareth]], at that time a town with a Christian majority,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Srouji |first=Elias |title=The Last Days of "Free Galilee": Memories of 1948 |url=https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/41376 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108064837/https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/41376 |archive-date=8 January 2024 |access-date=8 January 2024 |website=Institute for Palestine Studies |language=en}}</ref> was spared devastation after agreeing to halt resistance and surrender, and because Israel did not want to visibly provoke an outcry in the [[Christendom|Christian world]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Judd |first=Robin |date=1 December 2014 |title=Derek J. Penslar. Jews and the Military: A History. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2013. 376 pp. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0364009414000488 |url-status=live |journal=AJS Review |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=477–479 |doi=10.1017/s0364009414000488 |issn=0364-0094 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240711021420/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ajs-review/article/abs/derek-j-penslar-jews-and-the-military-a-history-princeton-and-oxford-princeton-university-press-2013-376-pp/AA4CD0FE80A71695A0A4EC15ED581614 |archive-date=11 July 2024 |via=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref> Important Christian figures were sometimes allowed to return, on condition they help Israel among their communities. [[Maximos V Hakim|Archbishop Hakim]], with many hundreds of Christians, was allowed reentry on expressing a willingness to campaign against Communists in Israel and among his flock.<ref>Motti Golani, Adel Manna, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Bmu_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 ''Two Sides of the Coin: Independence and Nakba 1948,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112425/https://books.google.it/books?id=Bmu_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 |date=4 March 2016 }} Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, 2011 pp. 120, 130</ref>

After the war of 1948, the Christian population in the West Bank, under Jordanian control, dropped slightly, largely due to economic problems. This contrasts with the process occurring in Israel where Christians left ''en masse'' after 1948. Constituting 21% of Israel's Arab population in 1950, they now make up just 9% of that group. These trends accelerated after the 1967 war in the aftermath of Israel's takeover of the West Bank and Gaza.<ref>Laura Robson, ''Colonialism and Christianity in Mandate Palestine'', p. 162</ref>

===In the Palestinian Authority (from 1994)===
[[File:Orthodox priest family.jpg|thumb|[[Clerical marriage|Married Eastern Orthodox priest]] from [[Jerusalem]] with his family (three generations), c.&nbsp;1893]]
Christians within the [[Palestinian Authority]] constituted around one in seventy-five residents.<ref name=larry/> In 2009, [[Reuters]] reported that 47,000–50,000 Christians remained in the West Bank, with around 17,000 following the various Catholic traditions and most of the rest following the Orthodox church and other eastern denominations.<ref name="ReutersFactbox"/> Both Bethlehem and [[Nazareth]], which were once overwhelmingly Christian, now have Muslim majorities. Today about three-quarters of all Bethlehem Christians live abroad, and more Jerusalem Christians live in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]], than in Jerusalem. Christians now comprise 2.5 percent of the population of Jerusalem. Those remaining include a few born in the Old City when Christians there constituted a majority.<ref name=fdd>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenddemocracy.org/usr_doc/Christian_Exodus_final_2.pdf |title=The Christian Exodus from the Middle East|publisher=[[Foundation for the Defense of Democracies]]|access-date=17 August 2009|author=Jonathan Adelman and Agota Kuperman|date=24 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524055344/http://www.defenddemocracy.org/usr_doc/Christian_Exodus_final_2.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2006}}</ref>

In a 2007 letter from Congressman [[Henry Hyde]] to President [[George W. Bush]], Hyde stated that "the Christian community is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and that expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were "irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community".<ref>{{cite news|title=Jesus and the Separation Fence|first=Ofer|last=Shelah|publisher=[[Ynet]]|date=29 May 2006|access-date=7 May 2007|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3256347,00.html|archive-date=2 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202180115/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3256347,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Plea for Palestinian Christians|author=Robert Novak|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=25 May 2006|access-date=7 May 2007|url=http://www.cmep.org/Alerts/2006May25.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407181632/http://www.cmep.org/Alerts/2006May25.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=7 April 2007|author-link=Robert Novak|url-status=dead}} Reprinted at 'Churches for Middle East'.</ref>

In November 2009, Berlanty Azzam, a Palestinian Christian student from Gaza, was expelled from Bethlehem and was not allowed to continue her studying. She had two months left for the completion of her degree. Berlanty Azzam said the Israeli military handcuffed her, blindfolded her, and left her waiting for hours at a checkpoint on her way back from a job interview in Ramallah. She described the incident as "frightening" and claimed Israeli official treated her like a criminal and denied her an education because she is a Palestinian Christian from Gaza.<ref>{{cite news |last=Flower |first=Kevin |date=9 December 2009 |title=Israel court: Deported Palestinian student can't return |publisher=[[CNN News]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/09/gaza.student/index.html |access-date=1 January 2010 |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924221921/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/09/gaza.student/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===In Israel===

In July 2014, during operation [[Protective Edge]] an Israeli-Arab Christian demonstration was held in Haifa in a protest against Muslim extremism in the Middle East (concerning the rise of the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]]) and in support of Israel and the IDF.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tlv1.fm/news/so-much-to-say/2014/07/28/israeli-arab-christians-take-streets-haifa-unusual-protest-2/ |title=Israeli-Arab Christians take to the streets of Haifa for an unusual protest |author=TLV1 |date=21 January 2016 |work=TLV1 RADIO |access-date=21 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009214720/http://tlv1.fm/news/so-much-to-say/2014/07/28/israeli-arab-christians-take-streets-haifa-unusual-protest-2/ |archive-date=9 October 2014 }}</ref>

[[Christian Arabs]] are one of the most educated groups in Israel.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303849604579278722657163880 |title= Christians in Israel: A minority within a minority |agency= Jewish Telegraphic Agency |access-date= 4 May 2009 |archive-date= 21 February 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170221013334/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303849604579278722657163880 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303849604579278722657163880 |title= Israel's Christian Awakening |website= The Wall Street Journal |access-date= 27 December 2013 |archive-date= 21 February 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170221013334/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303849604579278722657163880 |url-status= live }}</ref> Statistically, Christian Arabs in Israel have the highest rates of [[educational attainment]] among all religious communities, according to a data by [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]] in 2010, 63% of Israeli [[Christian Arabs]] have had college or [[postgraduate education]], the highest of any religious and [[ethno-religious]] group.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bokra.net/Article-1155836 |title=المسيحيون العرب يتفوقون على يهود إسرائيل في التعليم |website=Bokra |access-date=28 December 2011 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313022451/http://www.bokra.net/Article-1155836 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the fact that Arab Christians only represent 2.1% of the total Israeli population, in 2014 they accounted for 17.0% of the country's [[university]] students, and for 14.4% of its [[college]] students.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.walla.co.il/|title=וואלה! חדשות|website=וואלה! חדשות|access-date=28 September 2019|archive-date=15 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315175212/http://news.walla.co.il/item/384730|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Christians]] are proportionally more likely to have attained a [[bachelor's degree|bachelor's]] or higher [[academic degree]]s than the Israeli national average. Christian Arabs additionally have one of the highest rates of success in the matriculation examinations, (73.9%) in 2017<ref name="Aruz7">{{cite web |title=An inside look at Israel's Christian minority |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/239745 |website=Arutz Sheva |date=24 December 2017 |language=en |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806014250/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/239745 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TOI2013">{{cite web |url= http://www.timesofisrael.com/christian-arabs-top-countrys-matriculation-charts/ |title= Christian Arabs top country's matriculation charts |website= The Times of Israel |access-date= 24 December 2013 |archive-date= 21 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190121032857/http://www.timesofisrael.com/christian-arabs-top-countrys-matriculation-charts/ |url-status= live }}</ref> both in comparison to the [[Muslims]] and the [[Druze]] and in comparison to all students in the [[Jewish]] education system as a group.<ref name="Christians in Israel: Strong in education">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4323529,00.html |title=Christians in Israel: Strong in education – Israel News, Ynetnews |newspaper=Ynetnews |publisher=Ynet |date=20 June 1995 |access-date=24 February 2015 |last1=Druckman |first1=Yaron |archive-date=1 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001161803/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4323529,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Arab Christians were also the vanguard in terms of eligibility for [[higher education]],<ref name="Christians in Israel: Strong in education" /> and they have attained a bachelor's degree and academic degree more than the median Israeli population.<ref name="Christians in Israel: Strong in education" /> Christians schools in Israel went on strike in 2015 at the beginning of the 2015 academic year in protest at budget cuts aimed at them. The strike affected 33,000 pupils, 40 percent of them Muslim. In 2013, Israel covered 65% of the budget of Palestinian Christian schools in Israel, a figure cut that year to 34%. Christians say they now received a third of what Jewish schools receive, with a shortfall of $53 million.<ref>[http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767496 'Israel's Palestinian schools strike in support of Christians,'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911025028/http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767496 |date=11 September 2015 }} [[Ma'an News Agency]] 7 September 2015.</ref>

The rate of students studying in the field of [[medicine]] was also higher among the Christian Arab students, compared with all the students from other sectors. The percentage of Arab Christian [[women]] who are higher education students is higher than other sectors.<ref name="המגזר הערבי נוצרי הכי מצליח במערכת החינוך">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/319/566.html |title=חדשות – בארץ nrg – ...המגזר הערבי נוצרי הכי מצליח במערכת |publisher=Nrg.co.il |date=25 December 2011 |access-date=24 February 2015 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203194137/http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/319/566.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In September 2014, Israel's interior minister signed an order that the self-identified <nowiki>''</nowiki>Aramean Christian<nowiki>''</nowiki> minority in Israel could register as Arameans rather than Arabs.<ref name=Aramean>{{cite news |title=Israel recognizes Aramean minority in Israel as separate nationality |author=Jonathan Lis |date=17 September 2014 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.616299 |access-date=12 October 2014 |archive-date=17 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917165653/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.616299 |url-status=live }}</ref> The order will affect about 200 families.<ref name=Aramean/>

The first local woman cleric ordained in the [[Holy Land]] was Palestinian [[Sally Azar]] of the Lutheran church in 2023.<ref name="azar">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64364143 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB |date=22 January 2023 |accessdate=22 January 2023 |title=First woman pastor in Holy Land ordained |last=Knell |first=Yolande |archive-date=22 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122235131/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64364143 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Gaza war (2023–present) ===
Since the start of the ongoing [[Gaza war]] in October 2023, there have been several incidents involving Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip, most notably the [[Church of Saint Porphyrius airstrike]] and [[Killing of Nahida and Samar Anton|the killing of two Catholic women]] by an Israeli [[sniper]] in the Holy Family Parish in northern [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2023 |title=Two Christian women killed by IDF sniper fire, says Latin Patriarchate |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778505 |access-date=8 January 2024 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en-US |archive-date=28 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628160138/https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-778505 |url-status=live |issn=0792-822X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2023 |title=Two women killed in Israeli attack on Holy Family parish in Gaza - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2023-12/in-gaza-israelis-attack-holy-family-parish-two-women-killed.html |access-date=8 January 2024 |website=www.vaticannews.va |language=en |archive-date=24 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224234548/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2023-12/in-gaza-israelis-attack-holy-family-parish-two-women-killed.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, there is an ongoing struggle between the Christian Kisiya family and Israeli settlers attempting to confiscate their land in [[Beit Jala]] since July 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mizzi |first=Oliver |title=Israel frees Alice Kisiya after arrest for resisting land grab |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-frees-alice-kisiya-after-arrest-resisting-land-grab |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250321041534/https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-frees-alice-kisiya-after-arrest-resisting-land-grab |archive-date=21 March 2025 |access-date=10 July 2025 |work=The New Arab |language=en-EN |url-status=live }}</ref> Another flashpoint was the June 2025 Israeli settler attack on the Christian village of [[Taybeh, Ramallah|Taybeh]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sudilovsky |first=Judith |date=26 June 2025 |title=Israeli settlers attack Christian village in West Bank |url=https://www.osvnews.com/israeli-settlers-attack-christian-village-in-west-bank-leaving-3-dead-and-homes-burned/ |access-date=10 July 2025 |website=OSV News |language=en-US}}</ref> In July 2025, Israeli forces once again targeted the [[Holy Family Church, Gaza|Holy Family Church]] in [[Gaza City]] which resulted in two deaths.<ref>{{cite web|title= Two dead, several injured in raid on Catholic church in Gaza|url= https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/two-dead-several-injured-raid-catholic-church-gaza-2025-07-17/|website=[[Reuters]]|date=17 July 2025}}</ref>

==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=28 January 2008 |title=Terrorism's Christian Godfather |url=https://time.com/archive/6942417/terrorisms-christian-godfather/ |access-date=9 July 2024 |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=9 July 2024 |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=26 November 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=1 March 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=6 December 2011 |access-date=4 November 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=6 November 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=3 January 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>[https://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=8 October 2024 |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=8 October 2024 |website=الجزيرة نت |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=محمود ■القاهرة |first=خالد |date=2 April 2020 |title=تيريزا هلسا.. فلسطينية أطلقت النار على نتنياهو |url=https://www.emaratalyoum.com/politics/reports-and-translation/2020-04-03-1.1329028 |access-date=8 October 2024 |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=8 October 2024 |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=28 March 2020 |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=8 October 2024 |website=فلسطين أون لاين |language=ar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Therese Halasa |url=https://www.facesofpalestine.org/profiles/therese-halasa |access-date=8 October 2024 |website=Faces Of Palestine |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Lebanese Civil War]] (1975–1990), the [[Palestinian National Salvation Front]] (PNSF), a Syrian proxy which opposed the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO), had its headquarters in [[Mar Elias refugee camp|Mar Elias]], a Palestinian Christian refugee camp.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 292, 23 January 1987; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; ‘a correspondent’ pp.12-13; No 289, 5 December 1986; [[Jim Muir]] pp.10-11</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=7 February 2003 |title=Israel warns of Iraq war 'earthquake' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2736283.stm |access-date=4 September 2024 |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=4 September 2024 |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=4 September 2024 |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=9 July 2024 |website=embassies.gov.il}}</ref> An image was later taken of George's Christian funeral in Bethlehem,<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 September 2023 |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=9 July 2024 |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=1 September 2015 |title=Fatah Martyr Daniel Saba George |url=https://www.d7.palestineposterproject.org/poster/fatah-martyr-daniel-saba-george |access-date=4 September 2024 |website=The Palestine Poster Project Archives |language=en |archive-date=30 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250330102428/https://d7.palestineposterproject.org/poster/fatah-martyr-daniel-saba-george |url-status=dead }}</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 |url-access=subscription }}</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===
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. These individuals tend to keep a low profile out of fear of persecution and intense stigma.<ref name=":0">{{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> The legality of conversion from Islam to Christianity under the Palestinian Authority is unclear.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 May 2013 |title=Freedom of Religion in Palestine: Converting Religions |url=https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2013/05/ibrahim-fare-religious-freedom/ |access-date=25 May 2025 |website=Jurist |language=en-US}}</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, including [[Rateb Y. Rabie]], 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===
{{Main|Gazan Christians}}
{{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=18 April 2013 |author=Asmaa al-Ghoul |accessdate=6 November 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=10 January 2011 |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=26 July 2012 |author=Saleh Jadallah |accessdate=6 November 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 November 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=18 December 2024 |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=https://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=https://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=https://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=18 December 2024 |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=18 December 2024 |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=18 December 2024 |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=18 December 2024 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=McKernan |first1=Bethan |last2=Christou |first2=William |date=6 November 2024 |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=18 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 November 2024 |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=18 December 2024 |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>[https://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=21 May 2010|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>

;[[File:كنيسة المهد بيت لحم٥.jpg|thumb|A [[Christmas tree]] in Bethlehem]]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 December 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>

==See also==
{{Portal|Palestine|Christianity}}
*[[List of Palestinian Christians]]
*[[Arab Christians]]
*[[Arab Orthodox Movement]]
*[[Demographic history of Palestine (region)]]
*[[Arab citizens of Israel#Christians|Arab Christian citizens of Israel]]
*[[Christianity in Israel]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Morris, Benny, ''1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War'', (2009) Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-15112-1}}
* Reiter, Yitzhak, ''National Minority, Regional Majority: Palestinian Arabs Versus Jews in Israel (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution)'', (2009) Syracuse Univ Press (Sd). {{ISBN|978-0-8156-3230-6}}
* {{cite book | last = Robson | first = Laura | title = Colonialism and Christianity in Mandate Palestine | year = 2011 | publisher = University of Texas Press | isbn = 978-0-292-72653-6 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9Y0CqJjN2O0C|doi=10.7560/726536}}

==External links==
{{external links|date=January 2023}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150811101759/http://en.lpj.org/2014/10/21/palestinian-christians-in-the-holy-land-and-the-diaspora/ ''Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land and the Diaspora'']. Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, 21 October 2014
* [http://imeu.org/article/palestinian-christians-in-the-holy-land ''Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land'']. Institute for Middle East Understanding, 17 December 2012
* [http://www.globalministries.org/news/mee/christian-presence-in.html Christian Presence in Palestine and the Diaspora: Statistics, Challenges and Opportunities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016024731/http://www.globalministries.org/news/mee/christian-presence-in.html |date=16 October 2015 }}. Global Ministries, 31 August 2012
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4514822.stm Middle East Christians: Gaza pastor] (Interview with Hanna Massad). [[BBC News]]. Published 21 December 2005.
* {{YouTube|aTW7JPPs8Mk|Christians in the Middle East – 11 May 9 – Part 1 – Riz Khan}} at [[Al Jazeera English]]
* {{YouTube|1vrZiozH7wM|Christians in the Middle East – 11 May 9 – Part 2 – Riz Khan}} at [[Al Jazeera English]]
* [http://www.bethlehem.edu Bethlehem University]
* [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/104/story_10407_1.html "What is it like to be a Palestinian Christian?"] at [[Beliefnet.com]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060830042116/http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol4No1/palestinian_return.htm Religion in the news&nbsp;– Israelis and Palestinians]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071220030905/http://www.urc.org.uk/reform_magazine/articles/bethlehem/index.htm Hard Time in the House of Bread]
* [http://www.al-bushra.org/palestine/0palestine.htm Al-Bushra] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040401224422/http://www.al-bushra.org/palestine/0palestine.htm |date=1 April 2004 }} (an Arab-American Catholic perspective)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100415005256/http://www.al-bushra.org/holyland/sabella.htm Palestinian Christians: Challenges and Hopes] by Bernard Sabella
* [http://www.saltfilms.net Salt of the Earth: Palestinian Christians in the Northern West Bank], a documentary film series
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151002150948/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/21313-arab-christians-in-israel-threaten-to-close-their-churches Arab Christians in Israel threaten to close their churches]. MEMO, 28 September 2015

{{Palestine topics}}
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[[Category:Palestinian Christians| ]]
[[Category: Christian groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Arab Christians]]