Netanyahu argues that Israel is the only center of Christian growth in the Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that "Israel is the only place in the Middle East where the Christian community develops and grows," despite the fact that the Christian community in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank is constantly attacked by the Israeli army and the Israelis who usurp Palestinian lands.

In his speech at a ceremony in northern Israel, Netanyahu claimed that Israel is an "island of tolerance" despite the attacks against Muslims and Christians.

Arguing that the Israeli army, whose war crimes are documented in Gaza and targets both Muslim and Christian Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, "is facing a global attack and is portrayed as oppressing minorities", Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli army is "the most moral army in the world".

Netanyahu argued that "Israel is the only place in the Middle East where the Christian community thrives and grows."

Despite the Israeli Prime Minister's claims, in the occupied East Jerusalem, the Armenian and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates and Catholic leaders issued a joint statement stating that the actions of radical Jewish groups spitting on Christian clergy, verbally harassing them, and damaging churches and cemeteries have increased significantly in recent years and that the security forces have not taken sufficient measures against them.

According to data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, while the Christian population in occupied East Jerusalem constituted 4.8 percent of the total population after the Israeli occupation in 1967, today this rate has fallen to 1.6 percent.

On the other hand, Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank state that they are considering emigrating due to the repeated attacks of the Israeli army and the Israelis who usurped Palestinian lands.