‘Hopeless’: Palestinian Christians leave West Bank as hardships mount
Palestinian Christians call themselves “living stones” and say they have lived continuously in the Holy Land for the last 2,000 years. Maybe not for much longer, believes Reverend Mitri Raheb. “If the current conditions continue, there will not be a single Palestinian Christian left by 2050,” said Raheb, founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of…
Palestinian Christians, who have lived in the Holy Land for over two millennia, may face extinction by 2050, according to Reverend Mitri Raheb, founder of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. Economic and security conditions have worsened since the Gaza Strip conflict began nearly three years ago, prompting hundreds of Christians to leave.
Attacks by Israeli settlers, increased military operations, and security checkpoints have intensified daily. Entrepreneurs like Issa Qassis, who established a startup in Ramallah, feel "frustrated and hopeless" about the situation and contemplate emigration to the United States. The Christian population in the West Bank has plummeted from around six percent in 1967 to less than one percent today, with an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 Christians remaining.
Young Christians are increasingly leaving due to the deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions, with parents now encouraging emigration. Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin noted that Christians can more easily emigrate due to their diaspora in various countries. Christian communities, particularly in east Jerusalem and Bethlehem, have seen significant emigration since the 18th century, with large communities now in the Americas.
In Taybeh, a town once home to 3,000 Christians in the 1980s, only 1,200 remain, with more than 15 families emigrating since 2023. Israeli settlements, housing around 500,000 Israelis and three million Palestinians, exacerbate the situation. A 2020 poll revealed that 35 percent of Christians in the West Bank considered emigrating for economic or stability reasons.
The Christian world must address this crisis, said Shahin, calling for strong action to prevent the Christian population's decline.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
