By Tendai Chisiri
Ramallah – The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs (HPCCA) in Palestine has issued a strong condemnation of what it describes as a decades-long Israeli campaign to eliminate the Christian presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
According to the Committee, Israel’s actions have caused the Christian population to plummet from 12.5% before 1948 to just 1% today.
In a statement released this week, HPCCA accused Israel of pursuing policies of ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, land confiscation, and systemic repression that have targeted Palestinian Christians and their institutions.
Ambassador Tamer Almassri, speaking on behalf of the Palestinian government, said, “The alarming decline in Christian population is not incidental. It is a direct consequence of deliberate Israeli policies that aim to erase the Christian identity of Palestine.”
Almassri cited the displacement of over 90,000 Palestinian Christians during the Nakba, the closure of approximately 30 churches, and the killing of 44 Palestinian Christians in the ongoing war in Gaza as key indicators of Israel’s intent.
He further condemned the Israeli airstrikes on major Christian sites in Gaza, including the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius—one of the oldest churches in the world—and the Catholic Holy Family Church, where civilians had sought refuge.
“Targeting churches and affiliated institutions such as Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and the Orthodox Arab Cultural and Social Center is a direct assault on the Christian community’s ability to survive,” said Almassri.
In Jerusalem, the Committee highlighted what it called “financial and administrative warfare” against churches, including the freezing of Orthodox Patriarchate accounts, unjust taxation, and the seizure of Armenian Church properties.
“The Israeli government is not preserving Christian heritage—it is systematically dismantling it,” Almassri stated. “In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Israel’s separation wall, illegal settlements, and land seizures are suffocating the city and threatening its Christian roots.”
The ambassador also dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks at the United Nations General Assembly—where he claimed Israel protects Christians—as a “cynical and misleading attempt to distort reality.”
The HPCCA reaffirmed that defending Christian heritage in Palestine is not merely a local concern but a global moral, legal, and humanitarian obligation.
“The international community must act now,” said the Committee. “Holding Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian Christian community is a critical step toward preserving not just our heritage, but our shared humanity.”
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