Christian leaders blame Israel for dwindling number of Christians in Holy Land

(OSV News) -- Christian leaders in the Holy Land, as well as Palestinian government officials, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly and blamed the Israeli occupation for the decreasing number of Christians in the area.

"The reason Christians and many others, too, are leaving Bethlehem is (the) Israeli occupation and its policies of closures, permits, exclusionary residency rights, etc., and not the policies of the Palestinian Authority," read the joint statement signed Sept. 27 by over a dozen Christian leaders in the Holy Land that makeup "A Jerusalem Voice for Justice," an ecumenical think tank.

Among the signatories of the letter were Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, who led the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and retired Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan of the Holy Land.

Highlighting the increasing tensions against Israel's continued war in the Gaza Strip, and what a U.N. commission and international experts have classified as a genocide, dozens of U.N. diplomats walked out before Netanyahu delivered his Sept. 26 address.

In his speech, the Israeli prime minister railed against the Palestinian Authority, equating it with Hamas, the Islamist resistance movement in control of Gaza, and saying that Christians "don't fare much better" under PA leadership in the West Bank.

"When Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was under Israeli control, 80% of its residents were Christians. But since the PA took control, that number has dwindled to under 20%," Netanyahu said.

In its letter, "A Jerusalem Voice for Justice" said that Netanyahu did "not speak on behalf of Christian Palestinians and cannot be allowed to twist the truth."

"Bethlehem was a Christian-majority city until 1948: more than 80% of the population was Christian" before the 1948 "Nakba," an Arabic word meaning "catastrophe" that referred to the forced displacement of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli War.

The ecumenical group also noted that Israel's continued war on Gaza has caused "the almost complete stop of tourism and pilgrimage" in Bethlehem, while hundreds more have left the holy city due to "Israeli occupation and military violence."

"We insist: Christians and Muslims in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine continue to live together as one people, sharing the same struggles under occupation. The truth remains: Palestinians, Christians, and Muslims alike seek equality, justice, and peace in their homeland," the statement read.

The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine issued a similar statement Sept. 28, saying that Netanyahu's speech was filled with "outrageous lies about Palestinian Christians."

Established by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2012, the committee is tasked with safeguarding the Christian presence and holy sites in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

"The reality is clear: it is Israel's colonial policies of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide that have devastated the Christian presence in Palestine," the committee said.

Listing several alleged atrocities committed by Zionist extremists and the Israeli military against Christians in Palestine, the committee said it was Israel "who has decimated the Christian presence in the Holy Land."

"Netanyahu's lies at the UN cannot erase history or the lived reality of Palestinians -- Christian and Muslim alike -- under Israeli colonial rule," the statement said. "Defending the Christian presence in Palestine is not only a Palestinian cause -- it is a global moral, humanitarian, and legal obligation."