(LiCAS News): Palestinian Christian leaders have warned that the war in Gaza and deteriorating conditions in the occupied West Bank are deepening despair among communities, prompting some to consider emigration. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Christian population in the Holy Land has declined sharply in recent decades, with fewer than 50,000 Christians remaining across Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
The warning comes from A Jerusalem Voice for Justice, an ecumenical Christian group whose signatories include Latin Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, Lutheran Bishop Emeritus Munib Younan, and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna. Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, another signatory, released the appeal.
In the appeal reported by AsiaNews on August 24, the group cited deaths and displacement in Gaza, as well as settlement expansion, checkpoints, closures, and movement restrictions in the West Bank. Human rights groups such as B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have documented a significant increase in Israeli settlement activity and restrictions on Palestinian movement since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the resulting, devastating conflict.
“We cannot remain silent,” the group said.
The appeal warned against becoming accustomed to the suffering in Gaza, where two million people reportedly face starvation and hardship amid destruction and the collapse of healthcare services. The World Health Organisation reports that more than half of Gaza’s hospitals are non-functional, and the United Nations has described the situation as a “humanitarian catastrophe”.
“The danger today is that we become accustomed to this tragedy,” the signatories said.
They called for “the protection of civilians, guaranteed access to humanitarian aid, and an end to killings, destruction, hunger, and fear.”
”This land is not only the land where our ancestors lived; it is also the land where we want our children to live’
The group also warned that conditions in the West Bank are pushing both Muslim and Christian Palestinians into “ever-deepening despair” and leading some to consider emigration. According to a 2024 BBC report, many Palestinian Christians cite insecurity, lack of economic opportunity, and movement restrictions as key reasons for leaving the region.
“What is happening in Palestinian cities and villages, including Taybeh with its significant Christian presence, concerns us all,” the group added.
The appeal urged Churches and Christian institutions to prioritise supporting Palestinians to remain in their homeland, including through the provision of jobs, education, and housing. Aid agencies such as Caritas Jerusalem and Catholic Relief Services have called for increased international support for these initiatives.
It also addressed Palestinian Christians directly: “We tell you: do not let fear dominate you, suggesting that you are strangers in your own land. Do not let despair cloud your future,” the signatories said.
“We are not relics of the past,” they added, describing Palestinian Christians as “an integral part of its people, of its past, its present, and its future.”
The group called on political decision-makers, particularly in the United States, “to assume their responsibilities, working to put an end to killings, displacement, and destruction.”
The appeal stated: “This land is not only the land where our ancestors lived; it is also the land where we want our children to live.”
