Christians ' Lives in Israel 'Threatened With Extinction '

Jerusalem's Christian community is facing mounting pressure as Israel blocks Palestinian teachers from the occupied West Bank from entering the city, threatening to sever a vital link between the city's Christian schools and Bethlehem, Al Jazeera reported, citing Bethlehem pastor Reverend Mitri Raheb.

Palestinian Christians are facing an existential crisis under Israeli occupation, with movement restrictions, economic collapse and rising attacks by extremist occupiers pushing families to flee, according to prominent Palestinian pastor and theologian Mitri Raheb.

Raheb warned that if current conditions continue, Christians could disappear from Palestine within decades.

"The situation is deteriorating to an extent that I believe if this will continue, by 2050 there will be no Christians left in Palestine," said Raheb, who is also the founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem.

Speaking to Anadolu from the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Raheb said daily life under Israeli occupation had become increasingly unbearable for many Palestinian Christians, prompting a growing number of families to emigrate.

"In the last two years, over 200 Christian families from the Bethlehem region have immigrated and left Palestine because they are afraid for their lives, for their kids."

According to Raheb, around 45,000 Christians remain in the occupied West Bank and fewer than 600 in Gaza. Approximately 120,000 Palestinian Christians live inside Israel, alongside around 30,000 other Christians, largely of European or Russian origin.

Christian schools in occupied East Jerusalem remained shut on Tuesday after Israel refused to renew entry permits for Palestinian teachers travelling from the West Bank, according to the report.

Raheb described the decision as an “attack on the Christian presence”, saying several affected teachers are Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem who have been unable to enter Jerusalem.

“Many of these teachers are Palestinian Christians from Bethlehem who are still being prevented from entering Jerusalem,” Raheb told Al Jazeera.

He said the restrictions also affect members of the clergy. Raheb added that, despite being a pastor based in Bethlehem, he does not currently have a permit to travel to Jerusalem.

According to the pastor, the latest restrictions represent another escalation in what he described as pressure on the Christian community in Jerusalem.

“This is just another step in attacks on the church presence in Jerusalem, which is really now threatened with extinction,” he said.

Raheb also criticised plans by Israel to expand its curriculum to schools in East Jerusalem.

He alleged that attempts to alter the curriculum in Christian schools form part of a broader pattern aimed at changing how Palestinians understand their history and identity.

He characterised the situation across historic Palestine differently, saying the Gaza conflict amounted to genocide, while in the occupied West Bank, he alleged, Palestinians were being displaced through what he called a settler-colonial project.

The comments come amid broader tensions over access, education and the status of Palestinian institutions in occupied East Jerusalem.