Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
PALESTINIAN Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dr Tamer Almassri, has accused Israel of waging a deliberate and systematic campaign to erase the Christian presence in his motherland.
He said the community has been reduced to near extinction.
In a statement, Dr Almassri, speaking on behalf of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs (HPCCA), said the Christian population in the occupied Palestinian territories had declined from 12.5 percent before 1948 to just 1 percent today due to
decades of forced displacement, land confiscation and repression.
“This alarming decline is a direct consequence of Israel’s policies of ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and systematic oppression,” he said.
“The displacement of 90 000 Palestinian Christians during the Nakba, the forced closure of nearly 30 churches, and the ongoing bombardment of Gaza—which has claimed the lives of 44 Palestinian Christians—are stark reminders of Israel’s relentless assault on
our community.”
Ambassador Almassri said the bombing of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, the third-oldest church in the world, and the Catholic Holy Family Church in Gaza, where civilians had sought refuge, was evidence of Israel’s disregard for religious
sanctuaries. Church-run institutions such as Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital and the Orthodox Arab Cultural and Social Centre have also been targeted.
In Jerusalem, Ambassador Almassri said Christian institutions were under siege.
“Israel has frozen the accounts of the Orthodox Patriarchate, imposed heavy taxes on church properties, and seized Armenian church-owned lands. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, settlements, checkpoints and the separation wall are suffocating the city
while Christian lands are confiscated for expansion,” he said.
Ambassador Almassri also dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, where he claimed Israel protects Christians.
“This is a cynical and misleading attempt to mask the reality. Israel is actively working to erase the Christian presence in Palestine while projecting a false narrative of protection,” he said.
The Palestinian envoy said defending the Christian presence in Palestine was not only a local issue but a global human, moral, and legal cause and urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for crimes against the Christian community.
Peter Tanyanyiwa