Former U.S. congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has voiced concern over what she described as growing persecution of Christians in the occupied West Bank, pointing to illegal Israeli settlements, military restrictions, and the shrinking geographic footprint of Bethlehem, revered globally as the birthplace of Jesus.

In a post on the social media platform X, Greene said American Christians are “largely unaware” of the pressures facing believers in the historic city and urged them to “learn about this and speak out.”

Her remarks followed a meeting with Bethlehem Mayor Maher Nicola Canawati, during which the two discussed the situation of Christians not only in the West Bank but also in Gaza. Greene said the mayor told her that residents want to live peacefully alongside Jewish and Muslim neighbours but that settlers “continue to take their homes.”

She also highlighted the scale of Israeli military control in the area, claiming there are roughly 139 army checkpoints around Bethlehem and that the city has been reduced from about 41 square miles to seven.

“What is the Holy Land without Christians?” Greene asked, framing the issue as both religious and geopolitical.

During the visit, the mayor presented her with a commemorative medal along with a stone and a piece of wood from the Church of the Nativity, underscoring the symbolic importance of the site to global Christianity.

Christians Caught Between War, Displacement, And Demographic Decline:

Greene’s comments come amid mounting warnings from church leaders and international observers that one of the world’s oldest Christian communities is steadily disappearing.

Across the occupied Palestinian territories, the Christian population has fallen below 50,000, with attacks on churches, movement restrictions, and displacement deepening fears of demographic collapse.

Historically dominant in towns such as Bethlehem and Ramallah, Christians now form a fraction of the population; many fear the two-thousand-year-old community could vanish within this century if current trends continue.

Clergy and Palestinian Christian leaders increasingly warn of “erasure” as settler groups seize land, block access to farmland, and contribute to rising poverty that drives emigration.

Meanwhile, bishops and analysts have described the situation in parts of the West Bank as being “in freefall,” citing growing settler violence and intimidation that threaten residents’ security and historical heritage.

Churches Damaged And Worshippers Killed In the Gaza War:

Concerns extend beyond the West Bank. A recent report detailed how the Holy Family Church was struck during the war, killing three people sheltering inside and injuring others.

Multiple Christian sites, including the Church of St. Porphyrios and the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, have been damaged, while fewer than 600 Christians remain sheltering in Gaza’s two main churches with limited humanitarian support.

The territory’s already small Christian community has dwindled sharply, with only three churches still officially active.

Rising Extremism And Settler Attacks:

Separate reporting has linked the erosion of Christian life in Israel and the West Bank to harassment, violence, and displacement associated with religious extremism and settler activity.

In Taybeh, the last fully Christian village in the West Bank, priests say residents live “under constant fire from settlers,” and some families have already fled due to the violence.

Local church bodies also accuse occupation policies of land confiscations, economic strangulation, discriminatory laws, and attacks on Christian property, conditions they say are forcing migration and emptying the land of its indigenous population.

Clergy Warn External Agendas Threaten Holy Land Christianity:

Senior church leaders have also raised alarms about ideological pressures. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and other churches have warned that political movements, including forms of Christian Zionism, are fracturing Christian unity and undermining traditional leadership in the region.

Such warnings reflect a broader anxiety that geopolitics, not just economics, is reshaping the religious map of the Holy Land.

Tensions And Incidents Add To The Fragile Atmosphere:

The deteriorating climate is marked by sporadic incidents on multiple sides. In one case, three Palestinians were arrested on suspicion of torching a Christmas tree at a Catholic church in the West Bank, highlighting the volatility surrounding religious sites.

At the same time, Palestinian Christian communities report growing restrictions on movement and access to holy places, particularly during major religious holidays.

A Shrinking Birthplace Of Christianity:

The demographic shift has been decades in the making. Bethlehem, once overwhelmingly Christian, is now less than a quarter Christian, and large diaspora communities outnumber those who remain locally.

Analysts attribute the decline to a complex mix of occupation policies, economic hardship, insecurity, and recurring conflict, all of which accelerate migration among younger generations seeking stability abroad.

Political Implications Of Greene’s Intervention:

Greene’s intervention is notable given the traditionally strong support for Israel among many U.S. conservatives. Her framing of the issue as “Christian persecution” could introduce a new debate within American political and religious circles about the treatment of Christian minorities in the region.

However, the issue remains deeply contested, with competing narratives over responsibility for the decline, ranging from occupation policies and settler violence to broader regional instability and economic pressures.

What is increasingly clear from church leaders, rights groups, and recent reporting is that the future of Christianity in the land where it was born is no longer taken for granted.

As Greene put it: “What is the Holy Land without Christians?”