Key facts
- Attacks by Israeli extremists against Palestinian Christians, their holy sites, and religious symbols are increasing in frequency and intensity.
- These acts are described as premeditated crimes, drawing ideological support from extremist Religious Zionist doctrine, including members of the police and military.
- Crimes include verbal and physical abuse, vandalism of holy sites and cemeteries, racist slogans, theft, looting, and arson.
- Attacks are concentrated in Jerusalem's Old City but also occur in the West Bank, within Israel's 1948 borders, and Gaza.
- A report documented 157 attacks between 2018 and 2023, with over 130 in 2025 and 14 in the first two months of 2026.
The frequency and intensity of hate crimes and terrorist acts against Palestinian Christians, including pilgrims, worshippers, clergy, and holy sites, are steadily increasing, carried out by Israeli extremists. These are not isolated incidents but premeditated crimes committed by individuals and groups, including members of the police and military, who draw their ideology from extremist Religious Zionist doctrine. The attacks involve verbal abuse, spitting, physical violence, vandalism of holy sites and cemeteries, racist slogans, stone-throwing, theft, looting, arson, and occupation of buildings. These incidents are particularly concentrated in Jerusalem's Old City but also affect Christian towns in the West Bank, Palestinian communities within Israel's 1948 borders, and Gaza. Recent examples include an Israeli soldier decapitating a statue of Christ and another desecrating a statue of Mary in southern Lebanon in April 2026, and a nun being violently assaulted in Jerusalem on April 28, 2026. A report by the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine documented 157 attacks between 2018 and 2023, with over 130 in 2025 and 14 in the first two months of 2026. Attacks have also targeted Christian sites within Israel, such as St Elijah's church in Haifa and the Latin Monastery of the Archangel Gabriel. The escalation is fueled by the rise of Religious Zionist figures, like Bezalel Smotrich, to central positions in the Israeli government. This ideology views Christianity as an enemy and seeks to establish a theocratic state, relegating non-Jews to 'resident strangers' status. The movement also influences the security apparatus, led by Itamar Ben Gvir. Perpetrators often believe they are above the law, with incidents rarely classified as terrorism or hate crimes, despite Israeli law allowing for severe penalties for such offenses.