The Palestinian Authority routinely represses Christians.
By Rachel Avraham
According to a recent report in Palestinian Media Watch, “In a sermon from a mosque in Ramallah, a preacher on official Palestinian Authority TV prayed that Allah “strike the thieving Jews and the aggressive Crusader Christians.” He then went on to describe them all as “increasing corruption” in the world.”
The PA TV preacher proclaimed: “O Allah, strike the thieving Jews, and strike the aggressive Crusader Christians who have behaved arrogantly and tyrannically on earth and increased corruption on it. O Allah, whip them with the whip of torment, and show us a black day for them.”
According to Palestinian Media Watch, “As documented by Palestinian Media Watch, the PA shows complete disrespect for Christianity by hijacking Jesus, turning him into a Palestinian, a Muslim, and the first “self-sacrificing fighter” – a term the PA uses to define Palestinian terrorists, and a “Shahid” –”Islamic Martyr,” which is portraying him as being in Paradise married to 72 dark-eyed virgins.”
Palestinian Media Watch continued, “Now the PA went even further, defining Christians as Crusaders, indicating that the religious wars of the Middle Ages are continuing. And since the religious war continues, the preacher prayed for Allah to “strike the aggressive Crusader Christians.”
According to Palestinian Media Watch, “Another regular PA TV preacher recently insulted the Jews, called on Allah to “protect Islam, the Muslims and the Al-Aqsa Mosque” from the “impurity, filth and defilement of the Jews.”” As PA Shari’ah Judge Abdallah Harb stated: “Allah protect the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque from the impurity of the Jews, the filth of the Jews, and their defilement, O Master of the Universe.”
Violence and coercion has resulted in up to a 90% decline in the Christian population in areas under Hamas or Palestinian Authority control, according to a study by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, in 1922, Christians constituted 11% of the population in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip but in 2024, they constituted just 1%. The Christian population in Gaza shrank from 5,000 before Hamas took over the area to only 1,000 in October 2023, the report found.
JCFA explained that religious and legal discrimination, desecration of holy sites, and social exclusion were behind the decline in the Christian population, the Jerusalem Post added. “The mass exodus of the Christians risks undermining the survival of Christianity in its birthplace,” the report added. According to the Jerusalem Post, the report also collected testimonies regarding violence and harassment against Christians, especially of girls, since the PA took over. “It’s unacceptable that in 2025, Christians in the Palestinian Authority fear reporting hate incidents against them for fear of arrest or worse,” the report concludes.
Photo from Palestinian Media Watch: https://palwatch.org/page/41427
