The Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs Condemns Netanyahu's Claims Regarding "Religious Freedom" and Considers Them False Statements

SadaNews - The Supreme Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine condemned the statements and publications issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which included misleading claims of facts, in an overt attempt to distort reality and whitewash his record of grave and systematic violations against our Palestinian people, particularly against Palestinian Christians and their sanctities.

The committee stated in a statement today, Friday, that what the occupation government is trying to promote regarding "religious freedom" and "the flourishing of Christian life" is nothing but a false propaganda discourse that completely contradicts the documented ground realities, as well as testimonies from churches and clergymen, and reports from the United Nations and international human rights organizations.

It added that Palestinian Christians, like the rest of our people, suffer daily from systematic repressive policies, including restrictions on freedom of worship and movement through an arbitrary permit system that prevents them from reaching Jerusalem and its churches, especially during holiday seasons, along with the repression of religious rituals and parades, and the forcible prevention of processions, as was the case in Nazareth, and the physical assault on Christian celebrants in the Old City of Jerusalem, in documented scenes that reflect a policy of systematic intimidation rather than isolated incidents.

The committee pointed out that occupied Jerusalem, as the center of these policies, has witnessed a dangerous escalation in organized assaults carried out by colonists against Christian clergymen, including repeated spitting, threats, physical assaults, and the desecration of religious symbols, all under the protection of the occupation forces and in a context of near-total impunity.

It noted that arbitrary arrests and summonses against clergymen and Christian activists continue, in an attempt to silence national church voices, alongside the desecration of Christian cemeteries, especially in Jerusalem, in a blatant violation of the sanctity of the dead and of humanitarian values.

The committee affirmed that the occupation authorities continue to violate the fundamental civil rights of Palestinian Christians by depriving them of family reunification and residency under what is known as the Citizenship Law, in addition to legal and institutional discrimination within Israel itself against Arab Christians, as well as systematic incitement campaigns and targeted media attacks against churches and clergymen, which contribute to escalating hatred and justifying assaults.

The Supreme Committee addressed the crime of demolishing Saint Barbara Church and the occupation authorities' continued refusal to rebuild it, alongside what is happening in Khillat Samaan and the Makhrour area in Beit Jala regarding land confiscation, and what neighborhoods like Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, and Beit Jala are enduring in terms of systematic geographic and economic strangulation policies.

It spoke of the continued dangerous assaults by the occupation in the town of Taybeh, including the repeated arson of Christian citizens' properties, which are direct assaults on their security and existence, in addition to targeting churches in Gaza that resulted in Christian casualties among refugees inside those churches during the genocide being perpetrated by Israel against the Gaza Strip.

The committee highlighted that the imposition of unjust taxes and economic pressures on the churches and their properties is a gross violation of the status quo and international agreements, accompanied by systematic discrimination in education and services, particularly against Christian schools in Palestinian Arab cities, as part of a policy of repression, tightening, confiscation, and discrimination practiced by the occupying authority in an organized manner.

The committee emphasized that the painful decline in the numbers of Palestinian Christians, especially in Bethlehem, is not a result of general regional conditions as claimed, but rather a direct consequence of the occupation's policies of land confiscation, home demolitions, economic strangulation, and deprivation of basic rights, which drives our people, both Christians and Muslims, to forced emigration, in a clear context of emptying the land of its original inhabitants.

It firmly expressed its rejection of the use of religious holidays and occasions, foremost among them the Holy Christmas, as a promotional platform to justify the occupation and its crimes, stressing that there is no real religious freedom under occupation, and that the birth in Palestine will remain a message of truth, justice, and peace, inseparable from our people's suffering, and from their legitimate right to freedom, independence, and the end of the occupation.

It called on churches and church institutions around the world, religious leaders, human rights organizations, and people of conscience, not to be drawn into these misleading narratives, to listen to the voices of local churches in Palestine, and to assume their moral and legal responsibilities in protecting the Christian Palestinian presence, safeguarding the sanctities, and holding the occupying authorities accountable for their ongoing violations.

It stated, "The truth cannot be erased by statements, and justice is not achieved by speeches, but by ending the occupation, holding those responsible for crimes and violations accountable, ensuring the protection of sanctities, and preserving the authentic Christian presence in Palestine."

At the end of its statement, the Supreme Presidential Committee confirmed that Israel's continued use of Palestinian Christians as a pretext before the international community, and its attempts to falsely present itself as the "protector of religious minorities" has become an exposed policy.