Bethlehem and the villages surrounding the city have experienced what the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA) describes as “Christian demographic erasure,” with numbers dwindling from 86% in 1950 to 10% today, the Jerusalem Post reports.
A recent JCFA study found that overall, the Christian population living under Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) now stands at just 1%. Back in 1922, the figure was 11%, representing a 90% decrease, according to the study.
The research was undertaken by a team led by Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch and Attorney Tirza Shorr, revealing both the extent and cause of the exodus, focusing particularly on historically significant cities, such as Bethlehem in Judea.
“Demographics don’t lie,” the researchers said. “We are witnessing a significant 80-90% decline in the Christian population in major cities.”
Palestinian sources cited increasing financial hardship, insecurity due to the war, and increasing travel restrictions as the primary reasons for the mass emigration, while the JCFA study also presented evidence of violence and oppression of Christians under the Muslim leadership.
The JCFA research discovered that the decline was not only due to systemic socio-economic hardships and instability, but also discrimination and harassment of Christians, including clergy, by Muslim Palestinians and the Islam-dominated PA. However, the report found that most cases were not reported to the authorities due to fear of retribution and a lack of legal enforcement.
“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 cautioned.
From 1967 until December 22, 1995, Israel controlled Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza, at which point the PA took over as a result of the Oslo Accord of 1993. The report found that the Christian population in Gaza, which stood at 5,000 before Hamas came to power in 2006, had fallen to just 1,000 in October 2023. The number has declined even further since.
The Jerusalem Post reported that, according to the findings of the study, violence and coercion to convert to Islam, religious and legal discrimination, desecration of holy sites, and social exclusion have all played a part in the sharp decline in the Christian population.
Testimonies of violence and harassment against Christians, and in particular of girls, have been gathered, leading to the conclusion that the Christian population was under threat, particularly in Bethlehem.
The authors warned, “The mass exodus of the Christians risks undermining the survival of Christianity in its birthplace.” Hirsch added. “The survival of Christianity in its birthplace depends on awareness and action. Silence strengthens the perpetrators and leaves the victims without international support.”
