Christmas under occupation: Israeli attacks against Palestinian Christians

EXPLAINERFewer than 50,000 Christians now live in Palestine, under threat from Israel’s illegal occupation and attacks.Published On 25 Dec 2025Palestinian Christians have gathered at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem for the first time since Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza began in 2023 to celebrate Christmas.Bethlehem’s mayor says the municipality has chosen to restore the city’s festivities after a long period of darkness and silence.At a Christmas market, Safaa Thalgieh, a mother from Bethlehem, told Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim: “Our joy doesn’t mean people are not suffering, have lost their loved ones, or are desperate, but we can only pray that things get better.”Palestine: The birthplace of ChristianityPalestinian Christians make up some of the oldest Christian groups in the world.According to the Bible, Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born and placed in a manger. The Church of the Nativity was built at this location, and its grotto holds great religious significance, attracting Christians from all over the world to the city of Bethlehem every Christmas.However, making that trip today would be very different due to several Israeli checkpoints, illegal settlements, and the separation wall, as highlighted in the map below.Palestinian Christians living under Israeli occupationOnce a thriving community, the number of Christians living in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza is now fewer than 50,000, according to the 2017 census, making up about 1 percent of the population.In the early 20th century, Christians made up about 12 percent of the population. However, Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank has squeezed communities, created economic hardships, and deprived them of the conditions needed to exist on their land, pushing many families to seek a more stable life abroad.A nun surveys heavy damage caused to the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, which was set on fire by Yinon Reuveni, on June 18, 2015 [Ariel Schalit/AP Photo]Most of Palestine’s Christians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, totalling approximately 47,000 to 50,000, with an additional 1,000 in Gaza before the war.