Holy Land Christians' Decline
Heather Sharp
BBC News Website
Church leaders have long voiced fears that Christian communities may be dying out in the land where Jesus was born, lived and died.
Conflict, lack of economic opportunities and the pull of the West have been driving a steady haemorrhaging of Christians for several decades, while low birth rates ensure that those who stay live as ever-shrinking minorities.
Although few reliable statistics exist, there is little doubt that the exodus has accelerated throughout the recent Palestinian intifada.
"Christians here are between two fires. We are between the fire of occupation and discrimination by the state of Israel - and the fire of living in a community where the majority are Muslims...".
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