Senior Christian leaders in Jerusalem have warned that outside political and ideological interference could be endangering the unity and survival of Christianity in the Holy Land.
In a statement issued on 17th January 2026, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land said local individuals promoting “damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism...mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock”.
The intervention has come amid growing concern among Palestinian Christians over Israeli policies including land confiscation, settlement expansion and pressure on church-owned property.
The church leaders said these measures were accelerating the erosion of one of the world’s oldest continuous Christian communities. They claimed that these efforts had received backing from “certain political actors in Israel and beyond” and warned that such support threatened Christian communities across the wider Middle East.
They added: "...these individuals have been welcomed at official levels both locally and internationally. Such actions constitute interference in the internal life of the churches and disregard the pastoral responsibility vested in the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem."
The warning followed a recent report by the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, which highlighted “threats to Christian heritage” in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, including settler attacks and unjustified taxation.
The report called for an “urgent need to protect Christian communities and our places of worship... throughout the West Bank, where settler attacks increasingly target our churches, people and properties”.
Israeli officials have consistently defended settlement expansion and movement restrictions in the West Bank as security measures rather than religious or ideological interference.
On 12th December 2025, Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the decision to grant legal status to 19 settlements was intended to “strengthen Israel’s strategic and security interests” and reflect what he described as the Jewish people’s historic connection to the land, according to Reuters. The government has rejected claims that such policies target Christian communities specifically.
Church groups have also condemned Israeli restrictions preventing teachers in the West Bank from reaching Christian schools in East Jerusalem, saying the measures threatened Christian education and community life.
According to the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Israel’s permit regime and military checkpoints have become the main tools used to block teachers from reaching classrooms, restrict movement and weaken educational institutions.
However, Israel has defended the permit regime as necessary to protect Israelis in the West Bank against what it describes as continued threats of attacks by Palestinian militants.