By Wesam Bahrani

Israel destroyed Christian presence in Palestine

October 14, 2025 - 19:28

TEHRAN – The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine has stated that the Israeli occupation regime has destroyed the Christian presence in Palestine. 

Following the Israeli regime’s genocidal assault on Gaza, the committee reported that a number of churches and Christian institutions have been attacked, including St. Porphyrius Church, the Holy Family Church, the Baptist Hospital, and the Orthodox Cultural and Social Center.

It confirmed that 44 Christians have been killed since the start of the genocide, some due to direct Israeli regime attacks, others due to worsening humanitarian conditions.

The committee also highlighted repeated settler attacks on the Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, the freezing of bank accounts belonging to the Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem (al-Quds), the imposition of heavy taxes on churches, and the seizure of Armenian Church properties, all in violation of the long-standing status quo agreements.

The statement noted that Christians face daily harassment, including spitting, physical assaults, and desecration of churches and cemeteries. In addition, movement is heavily restricted due to checkpoints and the separation wall, often preventing Christians from practicing their faith or celebrating religious events such as Easter.

It also drew attention to the siege of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, which is now surrounded by over 150 checkpoints, settlements, and sections of the separation wall. The city’s area has been reduced from 37 square kilometers to just 7.3.

The committee warned that the Israeli settlement plan, known as “E1,” would further isolate Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings and tighten the siege on Bethlehem.

Before the Nakba of 1948, Palestinian Christians made up about 12.5% of the population in historic Palestine. Today, they make up only 1.2%, and just 1% in the territories occupied in 1967.

It concluded by stating that the Israeli regime, not anyone else, has systematically dismantled the Christian presence in the Holy Land. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lies cannot erase history or the reality of Palestinians living under occupation,” the statement said.

The committee released a statement accompanied by a photo of an Israeli tank outside the Church of the Nativity during the 2002 invasion of the West Bank, emphasizing that the Israeli regime’s colonial policies, including ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and acts of genocide, have led to the destruction of Christian life in Palestine.

It noted that before the Nakba of 1948, Palestinian Christians made up about 12.5% of the population in historic Palestine. Today, they make up only 1.2%, and just 1% in the territories occupied in 1967.

According to the committee, 90,000 Palestinian Christians were displaced during the Nakba, and around 30 churches were forced to close. Zionist militias also carried out massacres against Christian civilians, including the killing of 25 people at the Semiramis Hotel in Jerusalem and the execution of 12 others in the village of Eilabun near Nazareth in 1948.

The statement also recalled the Christian villages of Iqrit and Kafr Bir’im in the occupied Upper Galilee, where residents were barred from returning despite court rulings in their favor. 

In 1953, Israeli occupation forces demolished the villages to prevent any return. Today, only the churches and cemeteries remain as testimony to the forced displacement.

The committee called on the international community to hold the regime accountable under international law, urged global churches to speak out in defense of their fellow Christians in the Holy Land, and demanded that the United Nations protect freedom of worship and the Christian presence in Palestine.

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