Instead of implementing containment or stimulus policies, the Palestinian Authority has been accused of indifference and prioritizing internal power disputes over the preservation of the social and cultural fabric of Bethlehem. To this scenario is added the growing influence of Hamas and radicalized Islamist currents, which, while not formally controlling the city, have managed to impose a climate of intimidation and social pressure. This is compounded by a power structure characterized by endemic corruption, lack of transparency, and the political use of institutions, factors that have eroded the trust of broad sectors of society, including Palestinian Christians. In Bethlehem, merchants, families, and religious leaders denounce that the deterioration of daily security and the lack of effective protection against abuses and social pressure have pushed thousands of Christians to emigrate. In this context, international demands are growing for the Palestinian Authority to assume concrete responsibilities and put an end to decades of abandonment that threaten to erase a millennia-old presence from the very heart of the Holy Land. Sources consulted: Demographic and religious reports on Bethlehem; analysis of local Christian organizations; international journalistic reports on the Palestinian Authority; NGO studies on religious minorities in the Palestinian territories. Various testimonies warn that this radicalization occurred in the face of the inaction — and at times the political convenience — of Palestinian leadership, which allowed fear and coercion to become daily tools of control. While the Palestinian Authority attempts to attribute the Christian exodus exclusively to external factors or the regional context, the persistence of the phenomenon under its administration reinforces criticism of its direct responsibility. The passivity of the authorities in the face of the advance of radical groups and the progressive Islamization of public space is pointed to as one of the main causes of the demographic emptying of the holy city. The situation has worsened in recent years with the collapse of religious tourism, a key activity for the local economy and traditionally sustained by the Christian community. The lack of elections, the weakening of the rule of law, and the instrumentalization of the Palestinian cause to sustain an increasingly questioned power complete a picture that, for many Christians in Bethlehem, proved incompatible with a dignified and safe life. The result is a historical paradox: while Bethlehem retains its symbolic centrality for world Christianity, its native Christian population continues to decrease, displaced by a system of government that failed to — or did not want to — protect it. This exodus, far from being a spontaneous or exclusively economic phenomenon, is pointed out by local and international sectors as the direct result of an increasingly hostile environment for religious minorities under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Community leaders and analysts agree that the administration of Mahmoud Abbas has systematically failed to guarantee security, equality before the law, and basic conditions for coexistence. Bethlehem, December 25, 2025 - Total News Agency - TNA - The progressive disappearance of the Christian community of Bethlehem, the city where tradition places the birth of Jesus, has become one of the most visible indicators of the political, institutional, and social deterioration under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, increasingly accused of neglect, corruption, and tolerance towards Islamist radicalization. During the last few decades, the Christian presence in Bethlehem has decreased drastically, going from being a wide majority to representing today only a fraction of the population.
