The Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine has accused Israel of carrying out an "unprecedented" assault on churches in the occupied Palestinian territory, describing it as part of a systematic campaign to eradicate the Christian presence.

The Committee cited "a direct attack on the Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem" as a key example of what it called an escalating assault on the churches of the city.

"These actions are part of a systematic policy aimed at dismantling the authentic Christian presence in Palestine and stripping the land of its historic religious institutions," the committee said on Thursday.

It said that Israeli occupation authorities froze the bank accounts of the Patriarchate and imposed "crippling, unjust taxes" on its properties.

"Such measures severely threaten the Church’s ability to provide spiritual, humanitarian, and community services, constituting a flagrant breach of the historic Status Quo and a gross violation of international law and binding agreements," Ramzi Khouri, PLO Executive Committee member and head of the committee, wrote in a letter to church hierarchs worldwide.

Overreach

The statement said the "assault extends beyond financial strangulation," pointing to Israeli settlement expansion on lands belonging to the Orthodox Church around the Monastery of Saint Gerasimus near Jericho.

"In the past two years, new illegal settlement outposts have been established in the Jericho area, posing a direct threat to its historic and sacred character and forming part of a broader plan to erase Palestine’s Christian and historical identity," it said.

The committee warned these actions are part of a wider occupation policy aimed at "changing Jerusalem’s identity, erasing its religious and cultural character, and ultimately eliminating the Palestinian presence in the city."

It appealed to churches and Christian institutions worldwide to take "immediate political, legal, and media action to halt these violations and defend the Church’s freedom to carry out its spiritual and humanitarian mission."

"Protecting the churches of Palestine is a collective responsibility and a historic trust," it said.

In recent years, churches in the occupied East Jerusalem have faced growing Israeli demands to pay taxes and accuse authorities of enabling settler groups to take over church-owned properties, including in the Bab al-Khalil area of the Old City.