Washington, DC, November 15, 2024 – The Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and groups in several US denominations have launched a campaign to protest Israel’s confiscation of the property of Christians and Muslims, and the severe escalation of violence against Palestinians. Called Take a Stand for the Holy Land, the movement aims to increase awareness among American Christians of the land theft and persecution affecting members of their own faith community.
Throughout the West Bank, Israel is emptying the most fertile land of its Christian and Muslim inhabitants and using their property to build segregated settlements, which are forbidden on occupied territory under international law. In Gaza, residents of the north are being evacuated as Israelis hold planning meetings to resettle the region. This process of replacing one population with people of a different group is defined as ethnic cleansing, and it is enabled by US tax dollars.
In East Jerusalem, families have seen their possessions thrown to the street while settlers move in and take over their homes. In other parts of the West Bank, Christians with century-old land deeds have been told their land now belongs to the state of Israel. In 2023, the Israeli army evicted eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank. More villages were driven out in 2024, and in May Israeli media reported that “since the war began, entire areas of the West Bank have been emptied of their Palestinian communities.” More than 70 Christian families have left the Bethlehem area during the same period, with similar trends in Jerusalem and other towns. These losses are devastating for the rapidly dwindling Christian population and threaten the continued presence of indigenous Christians in the Holy Land.
Christian communities near Bethlehem are in the spotlight as local families fight their eviction. This area is home to the largest concentration of indigenous Christians of the Holy Land. One example is the Kisiya family, which has been fighting Israeli confiscation of their land for twelve years despite clear documents proving ownership of the land purchased by their grandparents. Their property is in a beautiful valley designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was home to a beloved restaurant frequented by Israeli and international customers, as well as those living nearby, until it was destroyed by Israelis four times. The family has been locked out of their land for months by a new gate installed by illegal settlers who want to take over the property.
Another Christian family, that of Xavier Abu Eid, has owned their land for generations but cannot obtain permits for basic services such as electricity from Israel. The family has already lost a significant portion of their land to the construction of an Israeli road connecting illegal settlements to Jerusalem. Abu Eid has written a book entitled Rooted in Palestine: Palestinian Christians and the Struggle for National Liberation 1917-2004.
These families face expulsion from their land solely because they are Christians in an area eyed for expansion by Jewish settlements. According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ), the Greater Bethlehem area has shrunk to 13 percent of its original size due to the expropriation of land for illegal settlements. Land confiscation is also accompanied by severe restrictions on movement and commerce, leaving the local economy impoverished and enriching the settlers.
Palestinian Christians have lived in this region for millennia. Many are descendants of the first Christians, and they are asking for support from the international community to remain on their ancestral land.
Israel’s destruction of Palestinian homes, power plants, schools, water supplies, and infrastructure is funded by US taxpayers. Christians in the U.S. and elsewhere are urged to stand with people of every faith against these crimes and to insist on equal rights for all in the region.
In addition to the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace and Churches for Middle East Peace, initial cosponsors and endorsers of the Take a Stand Campaign include Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network, Justice for Palestine and Israel Community of the Alliance of Baptists, Franciscan Action Network, Palestine Justice Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Christians for Ceasefire, Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, Disciples of Christ Palestine Israel Network, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network, and Pax Christi USA. For more information, visit www.pcap-us.org.
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Contact:
Philip Farah
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace
(703) 593-7982
pfarah52@gmail.com
