Violations and attacks
against churches and Christians communities
This page aims to research and document the violations and attacks against churches and Christians communities in the holy land of Palestine during the past 5 years.
“Over the past year, some of our churches, funeral processions, and places of public gathering have become targets of attack; some of our holy sites and cemeteries have been desecrated; and some of our ancient liturgies, such as the Palm Sunday Procession and the Holy Fire Ceremony, have been closed off to thousands of worshipers. This is in spite of our agreements to cooperate with the governing authorities, and to accommodate any reasonable requests that they might present,” said the Patriarchs and heads of Churches.”
Caretakers of the Protestant cemetery inspect vandalised graves on Mount Zion outside Jerusalem's Old City on January 4, 2023.
The tombstone of British Army soldier Private J Stewart was among those destroyed
A priest stands by a damaged statue of Jesus in the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.
Israeli police said they were investigating Sunday's attack on the Protestant Cemetery
Romanian Moastery/Cemetery Attack
Vandals desecrated more than 30 graves at a his lem's Mount Zion. (AP Photo Mahmoud Illean)
Romanian Monastery Cemetery Attack 2
Israel-forces-block-entrance-holy-church-easter-april-2023-afp
Christians gather around the Edicule, during the Holy Fire ceremony at Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre church, on April 23,2022.
Orthodox Cemetery Vandalised
orthodox cemetery vandalised 2
Jewish settlers vandalized a church in Jerusalem. (Photo Jerusalem Governorate)
A statue of Jesus was damaged after a man allegedly pulled down and smashed the icon in a church in Jerusalem's Old City.(AP Photo: Mahmoud Illean)
Source ABC NEWS
A nun inspects damage at the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty
A priest walks past Hebrew graffiti reading ‘idols will be cast out’ at the damaged Church of the Multiplication. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty
A witness of the attack against the Church of Gethsemane in East Jerusalem (AFP or licensors)
Salesian Father Antonio Scudu, caretaker of St. Stephen Church in the Beit Jamal Salesian monastery near Jerusalem, holds a portion of a shattered statue of Mary Sept. 26, 2017, after vandals broke into the church. (CNS photo/Debbie Hill)
Franciscan Father Ibrahim Faltas from the Custody of the Holy Land inspects the damage to the floor after a man tried to set fire to the Church of the Gethsemane in Jerusalem Dec. 4, 2020. (CNS photo/Ammar Awad, Reuters)
Documentaries & Interviews
The Battle for Jerusalem
An Overview of the occupation
Jerusalem The East Side Story
The Migration of Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem
Read More Reports
Holy Land church leaders place ‘ultimate hope only in God’ amid attacks on Christian sites – Read More
Churches in the Holy Land warn of rise in anti-Christian incidents – Read More
Hate crimes are driving the drastic decline of indigenous Christians – Read More
Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem release “Statement on the Current Threat to the Christian Presence on the Holy Land” – Read More
Holy Land Christians say attacks rising in far-right Israel – Read More
Jerusalem’s Christian population sees steep decline: Church leader – Read More
Churches criticise Israeli curbs on Orthodox Easter event in Jerusalem – Read More
Churches in the Holy Land warn of rise in anti-Christian incidents – Read More
Attack on Gethsemane Church intended to ‘drive Christians from the Holy Land’ – Read More
Christian presence in the Holy Land under “extreme threat” – Read More
Money, not the protection of Palestinian Christians, was at the root of Holy Sepulcher protest – Read More
Anti-Christian incidents are on the rise in Jerusalem’s Old City – Read More