Palestinian Christians

Pope Leo XIV during his inauguration, in Vatican City, the Holy See, May 18, 2025. (Mazur/cbcew.org.uk)

What Pope Leo won’t say about Gaza is testing the Catholic Church

Leo XIV has embraced his predecessor’s ethic of empathy. But across the Church, many are demanding he speak out more clearly against Israel's crimes.

By Paola Caridi July 10, 2026

People gather near the entrance to the the church at the Christmas market in Bir'im, Dec. 13, 2025. (Anna Maria Hawa)

In the Galilee hills, Christmas celebrations revive a depopulated Palestinian village

After a two-year absence, displaced residents and their descendants returned to Bir'im — part of efforts since 1948 to keep the community alive.

By Samah Watad December 24, 2025

PODCAST: Who’s afraid of Palestinian Christianity?

John Munayer highlights how Palestinian Christians have resisted their depoliticization, following in the tradition of anti-colonial liberation theology.

By +972 Magazine December 18, 2025

Latest

People react following Israel's attack on the compound of the Greek Orthodox St. Porphyrius Church in Gaza City, October 20, 2023. (Omar El-Qattaa)

Sheltering in churches, Gaza’s Christians face another Christmas under fire

After repeated Israeli attacks on Gaza's historic churches, displaced Palestinians are mourning loved ones and the joy of holidays past.

By Ruwaida Amer December 24, 2024

Palestinian Greek Orthodox Christians attend a Christmas Eve Mass, led by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Alexios at St. Porphyrios Church in Gaza City, January 7, 2022. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

Palestinian Christians in Gaza fear being ‘swept under the rubble or into the desert’

Hundreds of Gaza’s Christian families are either sheltering in a church or have fled south, marking Christmas only as another day of Israel’s deadly assault.

By Fatima AbdulKarim December 28, 2023

View of graves that were allegedly vandalized by Jewish men, in the Christian cemetery on Mount Zion, in the Old City of Jerusalem, January 4, 2023. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

‘The escalation is frightening’: Jerusalem Christians fear for their future

The city’s dwindling Christian community is facing a spike in hate crimes under the far-right government, with possible ramifications for Israel’s ties abroad.

By Natan Odenheimer July 14, 2023

Palestinians watch the lighting of a Christmas tree at Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity in West Bank town of Bethlehem, December 4, 2021. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Bethlehem’s Christmas celebrations marred by Israel’s COVID orders

Israeli travel restrictions have crippled Bethlehem's biggest tourist season, with Palestinian Christians criticizing their occupier's decisions as political.

By Samah Salaime December 27, 2021

Hundreds of American Jews protest against ICE raids at an Amazon store in New York City, August 11, 2019. (Gili Getz)

+972 Magazine’s 25 most-read posts of 2019

From climate catastrophe in Israel-Palestine to the crackdown in Kashmir to the dark past and present of Israeli arms exports — here are our most popular articles from the last year.

By +972 Magazine December 24, 2019

From Gaza to Bethlehem: Celebrating Christmas under occupation

Photographer Samar Hazboun captures the subtle, intimate moments of Palestinians celebrating Christmas under siege and occupation, following three families from the Gaza Strip to Bethlehem in the West Bank.

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2018

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III arrives at the Church of the Nativity in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem as Orthodox Christmas celebrations kicked off on January 6, 2016, in the traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ. (Flash90)

Christian leaders shut down Holy Sepulchre church to protest Israeli policy

A bill to expropriate church property and a plan to charge the church 650 million NIS in back taxes prompt protest from Christian leaders. Christian leaders announced that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the holiest sites in all of Christianity, will be closed indefinitely to protest a Knesset bill that will allow…

By Joshua Leifer February 25, 2018

Orthodox Christians participate in a Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem during the Easter Holiday, April 15, 2017. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

What Christians of the Arab world are facing this Easter

From the church bombings in Egypt to the restrictions on movement in Palestine to an exodus from Iraq, Christians of most Middle Eastern countries are at serious risk. By James J. Zogby This year there will no Easter celebrations for Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt. Out of concern for their security and out of respect…

By +972 Magazine April 16, 2017

A minaret of a mosque in Jaffa port overlooking Tel Aviv, January 5, 2008. (Jorge Novominsky/Flash90)

Silencing our mosques is the next stage in our dispossession

Moti Yogev’s ‘muezzin law’ is yet another step toward creating a public atmosphere that could lead to expelling Arabs from Israel. By Abed Abu Shehadeh As it does every year, the sounds of the muezzin reached the Knesset this past week. Last time it was Yisrael Beiteinu’s Anastasia Michaeli who brought the “muezzin law” before the Knesset;…

By Haokets November 18, 2016

A young woman runs next to the Israeli separation wall as hundreds of Palestinian and international athletes took part in the the inaugural Palestine Marathon which took place in Bethlehem, West Bank, April 21, 2013. Under the title "Right to Movement" runners had to complete two laps of the same route, as organizers were unable to find a single course of 42 uninterrupted kilometers under Palestinian Authority control.

In Bethlehem, even running is a political statement

Despite their difficult circumstances, Palestinians in Bethlehem find ways to remind the world that Israel’s occupation cannot exist forever. The organizers of the Palestine Marathon, held annually in the West Bank city of Bethlehem since 2013, recently announced that its next run will take place on Friday 1st April, 2016. The event – one my…

By Amjad Iraqi December 26, 2015