The plight of Christian communities in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and until this week Lebanon, has become an urgent issue amidst the broader conflict in the Middle East. As Israel continues its genocidal campaigns and occupation policies, Arab Christians are facing widespread persecution, economic strangulation, and displacement, raising significant concerns about their survival and cultural preservation.
Along with the inevitable human toll from the violence, there’s also the very real destruction of a people’s cultural and religious heritage. In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces desecrated a church in the Christian village of Deir Mimas, while aerial bombardments levelled the second-oldest evangelical church in Syria and Lebanon.
These acts are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pattern of targeting Arab Christians, a minority community with deep and historic roots in the region.
Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ and a symbol of Christianity’s rich history, is a case in point. Palestinian Christians in the city have long suffered from economic and social constraints imposed by the Israeli occupation. In 2024, the Israeli government imposed additional taxes on churches and Christian institutions in Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities. These taxes, which violate international law, have exacerbated the economic struggles of the Christian community, forcing many to abandon their ancestral homes.
Meanwhile, illegal Israeli settlers have seized land from Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank, rendering countless families homeless. This is compounded by a lack of international intervention, leaving Palestinian Christians to fend for themselves against systematic displacement and demographic manipulation. And there is more.
Netanyahu’s demographic plans
Netanyahu’s policies have fuelled concerns about the deliberate marginalisation of Arab Christians. A 2024 settlement plan introduced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich aims to connect illegal Israeli settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc to Jerusalem, encroaching on Palestinian land, including the few remaining Christian villages in the West Bank.
The plan not only displaces Christian residents but also alters the religious and cultural identity of these areas. For example, the valley of Al-Makhrur, a rare Christian stronghold in the region, risks being swallowed up by settlement expansions. Netanyahu’s silence on these policies suggests complicity in a broader strategy of forced displacement and demographic engineering that threatens to erase the Christian presence in Palestine.
Despite these alarming developments, the international response has been largely muted. The United Nations has passed resolutions condemning Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, but no concrete sanctions or coordinated actions have followed. This lack of accountability enables continued violations against Arab Christians, reinforcing a troubling double standard in how the global community addresses human rights abuses.
The situation has drawn sporadic attention from global leaders. In late 2024, Pope Francis called for an investigation into what he described as the “potential” genocide in Gaza. However, framing the crisis as “potential” fails to acknowledge the grim reality: Arab Christians are facing systematic persecution that meets the criteria for crimes against humanity, as evidenced by International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
Transnational agenda of genocide against Christians
The persecution of Arab Christians is not confined to Gaza and the West Bank. It remains an integral part of Netanyahu’s transnational strategy of destroying Arab Christians which are seen as part of the wider ‘Arab Problem’ that Netanyahu has hinted at within Israel, prior to the Gaza genocide.
In Lebanon, where Christians make up less than half the population, Israeli military actions have devastated Christian-majority areas over a year-long assault, intensified in the past two months ahead of this week’s ceasefire. Eastern Beirut and the northern coast of Mount Lebanon have suffered extensive destruction from Israeli bombings. Churches, vital symbols of Lebanese Christian identity, have been destroyed, further eroding the community’s cultural and religious fabric.
Notably, these attacks on Christian areas are not tied to military objectives, such as targeting Hezbollah.
Many Lebanese Christians, including prominent political figures like Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces Party, have publicly condemned Hezbollah’s actions. This undermines claims that the bombings are necessary for Israeli national security and points instead to a deliberate campaign against Arab Christians.
Domestic persecution in Israel
The challenges faced by Arab Christians extend to those living within Israel’s borders. A 2024 report by the Jerusalem-based Rossing Center documented widespread harassment and property damage targeting Israeli Christians, most of whom are of Arab origin. Ultra-orthodox Zionist groups have been implicated in acts of intimidation and violence, including disrupting religious services.
The Israeli government has shown little interest in addressing these issues. The Netanyahu administration has not taken action against the perpetrators, signaling tacit approval of such behavior.
This indifference reflects a broader agenda of Zionist supremacy that marginalises not only Muslims but also Christians within Israeli society.
The systematic targeting of Arab Christians is part of a larger strategy to consolidate Jewish supremacy in the region by displacing or erasing non-Jewish communities. For the international community, this presents a moral imperative to hold Israel accountable for its actions. Diplomatic isolation, economic sanctions, and military restrictions are necessary tools to curb these violations and ensure justice for affected communities.
Unfortunately, global responses remain inadequate. The plight of Arab Christians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon underscores the urgent need for a unified international response to safeguard their rights and heritage. These communities are not just casualties of war but victims of deliberate policies aimed at erasing their presence.
For centuries, Arab Christians have been integral to the cultural and religious mosaic of the Middle East. Preserving their communities is not only a matter of justice but also a testament to the region’s rich history of coexistence. The question is whether the global community will rise to this challenge or continue to turn a blind eye to their suffering.
The author, Hamzah Rifaat, obtained degrees in Peace and Conflict Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan and in World Affairs and Professional Diplomacy from the Bandaranaike Diplomatic Training Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Hamzah was also a South Asian Voices Visiting Fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC in 2016.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT Afrika.
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