Palestinian Christian Communities Face Existential Threat, Rights Group Warns UN
12,000 word well documented report sent to all relevant international agencies
In one of the most powerful, well-documented studies published on the status of Christians in Palestine and Israel, the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights issued an appeal to a host of relevant international agencies calling for direct intervention to address an “existential threat” facing Palestinian Christian communities.
The nearly 12,000-word, well-documented appeal was issued on August 15, 2025, by the Balasan Initiative for Human Rights (BIHR). It warns the United Nations that the continued existence of Palestinian Christian communities across historic Palestine is under severe threat due to Israel’s systematic violations of international law.
The submission, by the Bethlhem district-based NGO, was sent to UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights, religious freedom, minority issues, and cultural rights, as well as the UN Commission of Inquiry, outlines what BIHR describes as “an imminent threat of erasure” facing Palestinian Christians in Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and inside Israel’s 1948 boundaries.
Gaza: On the Brink of Extinction
Once home to thousands of Christians, Gaza’s Christian population has now dwindled to fewer than 500 individuals. According to BIHR, Israel’s war on Gaza has devastated this community. The destruction of churches, including the ancient Saint Porphyrius Church, left dozens dead as Christians sheltered inside. Attacks on Gaza’s only Catholic church in July killed three more, including an 84-year-old woman.
Alongside direct military assaults, starvation, the destruction of 92% of housing, and the collapse of Gaza’s health system have pushed the community to the edge. “The historic Christian presence in Gaza faces extinction,” the appeal warns.
Jerusalem: Targeting Churches and Communities
Jerusalem’s Christian population has shrunk to just over 10,000 – barely one percent of the city. BIHR highlights Israeli attempts to impose taxes on church properties, violating the centuries-old “Status Quo” arrangement. Earlier this week, Israeli authorities froze the bank accounts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, crippling its ability to pay clergy and maintain schools and hospitals.
Settler groups, often backed by Israeli courts, have seized historic church lands in Silwan and sought to take over a large section of the Armenian Quarter known as the “Cow’s Garden.” In addition, Christian worshippers have faced increasing restrictions during Easter celebrations, including limits on entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the prevention of the “Holy Fire” ceremony from reaching Gaza and Bethlehem.
West Bank: Villages Under Siege
In the West Bank, Christian villages such as Taybeh and Aboud are under constant settler attacks, while Bethlehem – home to the Nativity Church – suffers from economic collapse. Al-Makhrour Valley, a UNESCO heritage site, has been targeted for annexation, and Christian farmers have been cut off from their lands by the separation wall and new military checkpoints.
“Bethlehem has now endured its second Easter season without pilgrims or tourists since October 2023,” the report states, noting unprecedented unemployment and a wave of emigration.
Inside Israel: Discrimination and Suppression
Within Israel, approximately 130,000 Palestinian Christians face what BIHR describes as systemic discrimination. Authorities recently banned the Feast of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, echoing restrictions on Holy Saturday in Jerusalem. Christian schools, which educate 30,000 students, receive less than a third of standard state funding, compared with full subsidies for Jewish institutions.
Churches have also faced repeated attacks, including raids on the Mar Elias Monastery in Haifa. Few perpetrators have been prosecuted, feeding fears of escalating aggression.
Appeal to the UN
The BIHR submission stresses that these measures violate fundamental international legal protections, including the right to self-determination, the Geneva Conventions, and prohibitions against religious discrimination.
It calls on the United Nations to take immediate action to protect Palestinian Christian communities, warning: “If urgent measures are not taken, Palestinian Christianity may disappear from the land of its birth.”
The report (available in its entirety here) is titled “Urgent Appeal to UN Special Procedures on the Imminent Threats to the Remaining Palestinian Christian Presence on Both Sides of the Green Line due to Israel’s Ongoing Breaches of International Humanitarian & Human Rights Law was sent to:
● Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the OPT, Ms.
Francesca Albanese;
● Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ms. Nazila Ghanea;
● Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Mr. Nicolas Levrat;
● Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki;
● Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel