In another sign of growing concern over Israel\u2019s treatment of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, former US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has revealed that she held a meeting with Bethlehem\u2019s mayor, Maher N Canawati, to discuss the persecution of Christians in the birthplace of Jesus, Gaza and the illegally occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the Holy Land without Christians,\u201d asked Greene on X drawing attention to Israel\u2019s persecution of Palestinian Christians.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today I had the honor of meeting with Maher N. Canawati, the Mayor of Bethlehem (the birthplace of Jesus), who is also a Christian.<\/p>\n
He told me about Christian persecution happening in Bethlehem and also in Gaza and the West Bank. Christians have been killed in the bombings in\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kHW6PLtmgw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@FmrRepMTG) February 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Following the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Christians and Muslims in 1948<\/a>, both communities have lived under decades of military occupation, marked by land confiscation, settlement expansion and severe restrictions on movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Church leaders and human rights groups say that daily harassment<\/a>, economic strangulation and growing settler violence have created conditions that push many families to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ: Jerusalem church leaders condemn Christian Zionism as harmful political ideology<\/a><\/p>\n The result has been a steady exodus of Christians from the Holy Land, threatening the continuous presence of one of the world\u2019s oldest Christian communities in the birthplace of Jesus for more than two millennia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In a post on X, Greene, who was a close ally of President Donald Trump until their fall out, detailed her meeting with Canawati, framing it as part of a growing concern about the plight of Christians in the Holy Land.<\/p>\n \u201cToday I had the honor of meeting with Maher N. Canawati, the Mayor of Bethlehem (the birthplace of Jesus), who is also a Christian,\u201d said Greene.<\/p>\n The former Congresswomen said the mayor of Bethlehem informed her of the escalating persecution facing Christians across the occupied Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me about Christian persecution happening in Bethlehem and also in Gaza and the West Bank. Christians have been killed in the bombings in Gaza and churches have been attacked\u201d.<\/p>\n Greene added: \u201cothers have told me this as well, and I\u2019ve seen videos on line.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Greene, the mayor stressed that Palestinian Christians \u201conly want to live in peace alongside their Jewish and Muslim neighbors in their homes that they legally own yet the settlers continue to take their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n She further relayed details of the scale of Israeli military restrictions in the area: \u201cThere are approximately 139 IDF checkpoints now in Bethlehem which one was 41 sq miles but has now been reduced to 7 sq miles.\u201d<\/p>\n Reiterating the religious significance of the city, Greene wrote: \u201cBethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus. American Christians are largely unaware of the Christian persecution happening there, but need to learn about this and speak out.\u201d<\/p>\n She concluded her thread with a pointed question: \u201cWhat is the Holy Land without Christians?\u201d<\/p>\n Bethlehem, revered by Christians worldwide as the birthplace of Jesus, lies in the occupied West Bank and is surrounded by Israel\u2019s separation wall, illegal settlements and a network of military checkpoints.\u00a0<\/p>\n Palestinian residents, including Christians, must obtain permits to access Jerusalem and other parts of historic Palestine. Human rights organisations say these restrictions severely curtail freedom of movement, economic activity and religious worship.<\/p>\n Warnings about the erosion of the Christian presence in the Holy Land are not new. In December 2021, senior church leaders warned that the Christian community in Palestine faced the risk of \u201cextinction\u201d<\/a> from Israeli settlers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month<\/a>, right wing American commentator Tucker Carlson highlighted the \u201cexodus\u201d of Palestinian Christians from the Holy Land because of Israeli persecution.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christian Zionist political support for Israel in the US is said to be accelerating the exodus of ancient Christian communities from Palestine.<\/p>\n Gaza\u2019s small Christian community has also suffered heavily during Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide. Churches have been damaged and Christian civilians are among the more than 73,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023.<\/p>\n Palestinian Christians represent one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. However, decades of occupation, settlement expansion, land confiscation and economic decline have contributed to a steady demographic decline, particularly in Bethlehem and Jerusalem.<\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Israel plans to expand East Jerusalem\u2019s boundaries via settlement building: Report<\/a><\/p>\n