Ambassador Amira Hanania, member of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine and its representative in Europe, participated in the first day of the event “Christian Witnesses from the Holy Land: What are the Stakes at the Heart of the Ordeal?”, organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Geneva Assembly of Churches.
The event comes amid the grave circumstances facing the Palestinian people and the continued escalation of violations affecting their lives, communities and presence. It provided a platform for firsthand testimonies from people of the Holy Land, offering a direct account of the realities of life in Palestine and highlighting the growing challenges and violations confronting Palestinians, as well as the increasing threats facing the deeply rooted Christian presence in the Holy Land.
Hanania presented a firsthand testimony on the situation of Palestinian Christians and the challenges confronting them, emphasizing that Christians are an integral part of the Palestinian people and share fully in its suffering. She highlighted the attacks, restrictions and measures affecting their daily lives, their presence, and their longstanding ties to their land and churches.
She also drew attention to the escalating violations targeting Palestinian Christians and their holy sites, stressing that the decline in the number of Palestinian Christians cannot be separated from the political, security and economic conditions endured by the Palestinian people. The continuation of these circumstances, she warned, poses a growing threat to their historic presence in the Holy Land.
Hanania stressed that safeguarding the Christian presence requires more than condemning violations. It requires practical and sustained action to support Palestinian Christians in remaining steadfast on their land, preserving their churches and communities, and protecting their deeply rooted presence as an integral part of the Palestinian people, its history and its present.
Carla Khijoyan, WCC Program Executive for Peace Building in the Middle East, also addressed the gathering on behalf of the WCC, reaffirming the Council’s commitment to standing alongside the churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land and to defending human dignity, justice and peace.
Khijoyan underscored the importance of strengthening solidarity with those facing hardship while remaining steadfast on their land and preserving their presence. She stressed that peace cannot be separated from justice, and that solidarity must be translated into tangible, sustained and meaningful commitment.
The first day also featured testimonies and interventions from Youssef Daher, Coordinator of the WCC Liaison Office in Jerusalem, and Iskandar Majlaton, local coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel. Participants shared perspectives on the realities of daily life and the challenges confronting communities across the Holy Land.
The event will continue through further dialogue and discussion on strengthening international solidarity, amplifying the voices of Palestinian Christians among churches and Christian communities around the world, and reaffirming the importance of protecting their deeply rooted presence in their land, churches and communities.
