Palestinian Christian leaders have urged American evangelicals to recognise the challenges facing their communities
They argue that Christian Zionist support is helping fund Israeli settlements that threaten Palestinian Christian communities
The appeal comes amid broader debates over Christian Zionism, settlement expansion and the future of Christians in the occupied West Bank
Palestinian Christian leaders have called on American evangelicals to stop ignoring their plight, arguing that the growing influence of Christian Zionism is funding the settlements that threaten their communities and ignoring the reality of life on the ground.
"Theology has been weaponised," Father Munther Isaac, director of the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice, told CNN. "These are Christians who are funding and supporting the major threat on our existence in the land today."
Isaac and other clergy from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem say the existence and experiences of Palestinian Christians are almost invisible to American evangelicals who support returning the Holy Land to the Jews.
"Our experience has been when pastors and lay people come to Palestine, see the walls, see the settlements, meet with families struggling just to survive in their land — that's when their eyes are opened," Isaac said.
'Come and see'
Isaac, 47, was born in the Christian town of Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem. Jewish settlements have spread over much of the land where he played as a child, and he can no longer walk the couple of miles to the ancient churches in Jerusalem from his home in Bethlehem. The West Bank town is encircled by Israel's separation wall, as per the report.
Father Bashar Fawadleh, of Taybeh — the last entirely Christian town in the occupied West Bank — said more than 90 people had left the town over the last three years. Now Taybeh has about 1,200 residents, and that number threatens to dwindle further. Fawadleh said his parishioners are afraid to get the harvest from their olive groves, and one resident said his cement factory comes under attack from settlers most days.
"If I have the opportunity to leave, I would leave and not stay in this town, because there is no future for me or my children," Roland Bassir told CNN.
Christian Zionism And Settlements
Troubling to the Christian leaders is that moral and financial support for the settlement growth is coming from many individuals faithful to "Christian Zionism," a movement that sees the modern state of Israel as the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. In January, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued a statement calling it a "damaging" ideology.
Among the most prominent faith-centred organisations supporting Israeli settlements are US-based evangelical groups Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFOIC), both of which highlight Bible verses for their missions.
CFOIC director Kimberly Troup told CNN she understood that Palestinian Christians had left Bethlehem because of Muslim persecution, not the actions of Israel. "Christian Zionism is an authentic expression of Biblical beliefs grounded in the Bible, which, as Christians, we believe is the word of God. Being a Christian Zionist means following God's word as stated in the Bible that He gave the Land of Israel to the Jewish people," she said.
Generational Shift Among Evangelicals
Isaac said he was seeing a shift among younger evangelicals. A 2025 University of Maryland study found that 51% of older evangelical Americans sympathised more with Israelis than Palestinians, compared with 24% of younger evangelicals.
Isaac said he has been invited to speak at traditionally conservative evangelical spaces, suggesting younger Christians are increasingly willing to question long-held assumptions.
